PP3 Doesn't Exist Here
by lets-talk-appella
Summary: A Bechloe journey, through PP2 up following the move to New York. There's jealousy, anger, a breakup, Chloe flying to LA to yell at Jesse, Beca finally waking up to realize who she loves, cuddle fests, a Bechloe First Time... Lots of things happen, PP3 doesn't exist. I consider it a series, not so much a multi-chapter.
1. Jealousy's a Bitch (Part 1)

**This is a series, not a multi-chapter fic! So, the timeline jumps, but I'm adding things on here in order. Hope that makes sense!**

 **The first section is all Beca/Kommissar interactions in PP2 (plus some additional content) as told from Chloe's POV. Basically, an extremely jealous Chloe Beale. Largely cannon, but I added some things in the middle and end. Three parts, first section of this series.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing, mistakes are mine.**

* * *

 **Jealousy's a Bitch... Or Maybe it's Just the German**

Okay. Fine. They're good. And the blonde woman– what does their website say her name is? Kommissar? – is, well, extremely beautiful. That's annoying. And okay, she can belt pretty decently. For a German tour-thief. Annoying.

The DSM performance ends and Kommissar surveys the crowd, her gaze settling on the group of Bellas. Suddenly, Chloe is forced to reconsider her initial impressions.

DSM had been good. But not that good. Not so good that they get to look over at the Bellas with that much arrogance and distain. Not so good that Kommissar gets to look at Beca like that. Like she's some interesting challenge waiting to be overcome. It's gross.

She's looking at Beca like she's a snack.

Chloe is fuming.

She no longer thinks Kommissar is beautiful.

No one gets to look at Beca like that. Moving closer to her protectively and glancing over, Chloe is pleased to see Beca glaring at the German woman. Well, maybe at the whole DSM group, but Chloe likes to think it's focused on their blonde leader.

As DSM steps off the stage to head in their direction, Chloe hisses, "Stand your ground," to the ranks of Bellas behind her. There can be no sign of weakness.

They all stare at the leaders of DSM as they approach: Kommissar and a huge guy. Chloe's pretty sure his name is Pieter. She'd scouted their entire group online to gain as much intel on them as possible.

"Barden Bellas," calls Kommissar as she reaches for a towel Pieter extends to her. "You came here to see us?"

Chloe crosses her arms and frowns; even this woman's voice is incredibly alluring, deep and rich. It's ridiculous. Beside her, she feels Beca cross her arms as well.

Kommissar stops in front of them and begins to dab her neck lightly with the proffered towel, though, as far as Chloe can tell, she's not even sweating.

"Is it because you are – what do the American kids say – jelly?" she continues in her stupidly sexy voice with a small smile. Chloe notices that though she's technically speaking to all the Bellas, her eyes never leave Beca's.

Desperately wanting to force Kommissar to look at her instead, or really, at anyone but Beca, Chloe spits out, "We are so not _jelly_."

Amy's hand comes to rest on her shoulder as a sign of support. Meanwhile, Beca has yet to speak, still staring mutely at the tall German.

Kommissar barely spares Chloe a glance as she again addresses Beca. "We should really thank you for making this tour a reality," she purrs. "You know, with your bumbling ineptitude."

Okay, now Chloe's pissed. Does Kommissar know she's talking to three-time national a cappella champions?

Beca is no help whatsoever. She's just staring. For God's sake.

Kommissar continues as she turns to Pieter, "We should send them something. Fruit basket?" she suggests with raised eyebrows.

"Yum, yum," he replies in a thick accent.

With a condescending smile, Kommissar focuses back on Beca alone and says nonchalantly, "Or would you prefer… mini muffins?"

That's a low blow and Chloe wants nothing more than to wipe the smirk off her face. She is not allowed to talk about mini muffins to Beca.

At long last, Beca breaks her silence. With a rather excessive hand gesture, she cuts in, "Okay, we didn't come here to start something with you guys, we just wanted to check you out before the Worlds where we're gonna kick your ass," she finishes confidently.

The Bellas "Ooohhh" from behind her as Chloe nods her approval at Beca's words… though she would have preferred different phrasing. She hadn't liked the look that came over Kommissar at the words 'check you out.'

Kommissar then steps way too close to Beca for Chloe's liking as she raises a finger to point at Beca, saying, "You? You are the kicker of ass?"

Chloe turns to see Beca appearing slightly intimidated as she looks up at Kommissar, who towers above her.

Beca breaks eye contact, and, glancing around, responds in a small voice, "Yeah."

Chloe winces at the timid tone, a little confused as to what's wrong with Beca; normally she can handle confrontation like this easily.

"You are so tiny," Kommissar says with a smile. "Like an elf."

Chloe's eyes flick between Beca, who shrugs at the comment, and Kommissar, who continues in the same gloating tone.

"Or is it a fairy? Sprite?" She breaks away to glance at Pieter, asking something in rapid German.

He leans forward and supplies authoritatively, "Troll."

Chloe's jaw drops. That's just offensive. She looks back at Beca to gauge her reaction and sees her shooting Kommissar a disbelieving glare.

Kommissar is still talking, her finger again coming up to point directly at Beca's face. "That's it," she concludes, "you are like a troll."

Chloe fights the urge to shove Kommissar's hand, and maybe her entire body, away from Beca. If this German woman could stop staring into Beca's eyes and smiling flirtatiously, that would be great, thanks.

Fortunately, Beca can defend herself; she draws in a deep breath and Chloe shifts her weight impatiently, waiting for Beca to deliver a great line. Sassy and sarcastic, Beca always knows how to end something like this.

She starts in a strangely loud voice, "You are physically flawless –"

"Thank you," quips Kommissar, making Chloe's blood boil.

"… but that doesn't mean I like you," finishes Beca lamely with an awkward head bob.

What? Chloe frowns heavily at Beca. What the hell was that supposed to be? And excuse me, but _physically flawless_? Has Beca lost her mind?

Silence settles over the group as even the DSM members look baffled.

"Um…" comes a quiet noise from Stacie at the back of the Bellas.

Knowing she needs to act fast to save the dumpster fire of a situation they'd found themselves in, Chloe inhales dramatically and says with as much gusto as she can muster, "We are not scared about Worlds because when the Bellas hit the stage, we are gonnna blow minds."

She has no idea if this is true. But honestly, she'd say anything to erase what Beca had come up with.

Pieter cuts in, startling her; she'd forgotten he was even there.

"With what, more of Flabby Abby's baby chute?" he sneers.

Amy moves from behind Chloe to put herself squarely in front of him, staring him down. She replies angrily, "That's not my name."

To Chloe's irritation, the DSM guy continues his rude comments.

She tunes him and Amy out to focus on Beca, who looks lost and confused. She moves closer to smooth a hand surreptitiously between Beca's shoulder blades, trying to ease some of the tension she finds there. Beca throws her a grateful look and Chloe feels herself relax slightly as well. Touching Beca reassures her that they'll be okay, even as Beca returns her own attention to Kommissar. Chloe adds some pressure to her back rub.

However, her hand drops from Beca's back when Kommissar interrupts Pieter and Amy, drawing everyone's eyes back to her. Shaking her head, Kommissar murmurs in her low voice, "Darlings, please take my advice. Don't try to beat us."

Again, Chloe notices that she's only talking to Beca. At this point, she suspects it's not only because Beca's a Bella co-captain. She wants to reach out to Beca again, but stops herself.

"You can't," continues Kommissar simply. "We're the best." She pauses only long enough to throw Beca a predatory smile before adding, "And now, I really must go rest my neck. It is sore from looking down at you."

Chloe wants to dunk her head in bleach; Kommissar had used the most seductive tone known to man – and woman. She's positive now – Kommissar is totally flirting with Beca. _Her_ Beca.

As Kommissar and the rest of DSM start to strut away, Beca finds her voice again, throwing her arms out to the side as she calls loudly, "Okay! Just because you are making me very sexually confused does not mean that you are intimidating!"

Chloe turns her face to Beca in shock. Did she just…? She reaches out to touch Beca's shoulder, trying to get her to be quiet (and maybe say that to her instead), but is unable to stop the torrent pouring from Beca as more members of DSM file past.

"We have nothing to lose! We have literally nothing!" Beca's shouting after Kommissar now, gesturing with her hands.

"Okay –" Chloe tries to calm her unsuccessfully.

"Aca-wiedersehen, bitches!" Beca finishes grandly, now positively flailing her arms above her head as DSM exits the showroom.

Chloe reaches out to her as Beca drops her gaze and covers her ears with her hands, mumbling desperately, "Oh, what is happening? Why am I using my hands so much?"

"Okay, um, let's just move on from that, and you know what –" Chloe's attempt to calm Beca is interrupted by Cynthia Rose's lewd whistle.

"Beca, you got a lady toner?" CR asks. "I didn't know you swung like that."

Stacie jumps in, "I mean, who can blame you? She's hot!"

Beca's face turns bright red as she raises her index finger to wave it around, making dissenting humming noises in her throat. "Mmm, no, no, that's not –"

CR interrupts, "Only one finger? That's not enough, she's huge."

The Bellas, minus Chloe and Beca, collapse into giggles. Beca stares dumbly, her hand still suspended in air.

Chloe, not liking the direction this is going _at all_ , tries again to reign in the group. "Okay, that's enough you guys, it was a high-pressure situation, Beca's not –"

"It's okay Beca, we're sisters and we accept each other!" chimes Emily brightly.

Amy clears her throat and adds, "Yeah, there's already a lot of lesbian activity here, Beca, so lesbi-honest with each other."

"You got a problem with that?" comes CR's voice.

Beca is still staring blankly, opening and closing her mouth. Chloe really wishes she'd put her hand down.

"Guys!" Chloe shouts, getting everyone's attention and finally snapping Beca out of her haze as she lets her hand fall. "Focus. Beca is dating Jesse. That woman is nothing. Let's move on."

At the mention of Jesse, almost all the Bellas look surprised, as if they forgot he exists. Even Beca seems mildly confused when she turns to Chloe, who keeps talking.

"Right, so we just made ourselves look like idiots in front of the enemy. That's bad. We need to get out of here and regroup so we have a better plan for next time," Chloe speaks slowly and clearly, gesturing to the exit to emphasize her point. She really wants to leave.

"Let's head out," Beca agrees, causing all heads to swivel toward her. CR starts to smirk until Chloe makes eye contact, staring her down with her signature crazy eyes. CR's expression rapidly changes to a more neutral one and she moves toward the door without another word. The rest of the Bellas follow her lead and move as a pack to exit, Beca and Chloe bringing up the rear.

"Thanks for that," mumbles Beca as they walk. "I think I blacked out."

"No worries. You did fine," replies Chloe bracingly, briefly touching Beca's upper arm reassuringly.

"Really?" Beca asks with a raised eyebrow.

Chloe hesitates, then decides to be honest. As they approach the same escalator that brought them in, she says, "Well, no, not really. You kind of babbled."

With a groan, Beca steps onto the escalator, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "What did I say?"

Chloe bites her lip. Avoiding Beca's eyes, she mumbles, "You said she makes you sexually confused."

Beca's head snaps up and she stares at Chloe in shock. "Are – are you serious?" she asks.

Chloe grimaces and nods.

Beca's eyes fill with panic and she inhales deeply before opening her mouth to speak. "Chloe, I…"

"It's fine, Beca," Chloe interrupts as they step off the escalator and back onto the ground floor. She realizes that she really doesn't want to hear Beca confirm or deny anything having to do with _that_ woman. "We'll recover, we'll show them what we've got later. Just ignore the Bellas. They're as nervous as we are."

Beca looks like she wants to say more, but Chloe smiles and skips ahead to walk next to Lilly instead. She knows it's a cheap move, but she wants time to think, and walking next to the quietest person in the group is a good way to do that.

She's mad that they messed up so badly. She's mad at DSM for sounding good. She's mad at Pieter for being so rude to Amy. She's mad at Kommissar for openly flirting with Beca. She's mad at Beca for being so obviously flustered around Kommissar. But she's mostly mad at herself.

She thought that after almost three years of seeing Beca with Jesse, she'd gotten over her jealousy. And yet, here it is again. She knows she's a jealous person, she knows that Beca would never cheat on Jesse with anyone (she knows that too well), and she knows that she's being completely irrational. She thought she'd gained some control over her feelings for Beca. But honestly. 'Sexually confused.' What does that even mean? Is Beca actually not completely straight like she'd thought? Because that's new information leading to a whole slew of feelings that Chloe is currently shoving away as hard as she possibly can.

Even if Beca isn't completely straight, there's no way of anything happening between them. She is with Jesse. And even if she wasn't, her type is apparently tall blondes. So, there's that. Chloe furrows her eyebrows in frustration. Beca has never acted like that around her. She'd give anything to have Beca look at her like she looked at Kommissar…

"I know seven ways to disembowel a pig," comes a harsh whisper from next to her. Chloe almost trips as her head snaps around to stare at Lilly, whose huge eyes gaze earnestly back.

"Um…" Chloe begins, utterly at a loss.

Fortunately, Stacie chooses that exact moment to turn and call back to Beca, "Hey, if you don't want that German woman, I call dibs!"

"Stacie!"

* * *

The singing envelope invitation had been weird but also kind of exciting. The bald guy in his pajamas had been even weirder and less exciting. A riff-off, however, is just plain exciting.

As Beca and Chloe lead the Bellas further into the strange basement, Chloe starts to feel her anxiety and suspicions fade away. Rather than feeling afraid of being turned into a lamp by their self-proclaimed biggest fan, she begins to look forward to singing with her Bellas.

That is, until she spots who else is in the basement with them.

Kommissar and her giant co-captain are standing near the adjacent wall; before she can look away or pretend not to have seen them, Kommissar's eyes lock onto their group. Or, specifically, onto the small brunette beside Chloe. Kommissar gives a slight smirk and Chloe watches as she and Pieter move toward them.

"Das Sound Machine. Two o'clock," she whispers as warning to her Bellas, who escape to leave only her and Beca to deal with the DSM captains.

"Tiny Mouse! We meet again," greets Kommissar upon her arrival, once again addressing only Beca.

Chloe's mouth draws into a thin line of annoyance at the nickname.

Chloe's displeasure does not go unnoticed by Kommissar, who shoots her a small, almost gloating smile. Dragging her eyes back to Beca, Kommissar places both hands on her hips, drawing attention to the defined abs on display under her crop top. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe sees Beca's gaze drop to follow the movement and stay there.

Blood pounding in her ears with anger, Chloe completely misses what Pieter says as she glares at Kommissar and shuffles closer to Beca. Kommissar flicks her eyes to Chloe for the barest instant, her smile widening. As Chloe returns to watching Beca (who is very obviously scanning the length of Kommissar's body), she sees red. It's apparent to her that Kommissar knows exactly what she's doing and that she might even know where Chloe stands in all this.

Smiling directly at Beca, Kommissar asks haughtily, "So, have you abandoned your foolish plans to face us at the Worlds?"

Before Chloe can respond, Beca huffs confidently as she points at Kommissar, "You wish, you… gorgeous… specimen." Her voice trails off at the end as she realizes what she'd just said, a look of panic crossing her face.

Chloe can only stare, cocking her head in complete confusion. Honestly. Beca is not making this easy.

Beca turns frantically to Chloe, covering her ears again and whimpering, "She's really in my head."

 _No kidding,_ Chloe wants to retort, but Kommissar speaks again.

"Very well. I'd be happy to send you there. I'll mail you. Large envelope," Kommissar's eyes rove shamelessly down Beca's body and back up as she speaks. "Cost nothing." She briefly snares her lower lip between her teeth.

Chloe is stunned. Good God. That had been the least subtle eye-undressing she's ever had the misfortune to witness and she hates that it was directed at _her_ Beca. Risking a glance over, Chloe takes in the sight of Beca positively ogling Kommissar, her jaw slack. She resists the urge to slap her to bring her back to the present.

"Well, it would cost more than nothing, but still cheaper than shipping, like, a horse, or perhaps an adult moose," says Pieter, thankfully snapping Beca out of her haze.

The small brunette takes a step forward, once again gesturing to Kommissar, and shouts "Did you ever think maybe you're too big?!"

Surprised by the aggression in Beca's voice, Chloe instinctively extends an arm in front of Beca to hold her back. No way is she letting Beca get crushed by Kommissar, who appears amused by Beca's attempts to fight her.

"It would cost a fortune to mail you!" Beca tries to lunge forward but Chloe holds her back with a grunt of exertion.

Kommissar and Pieter don't even flinch as Beca resists Chloe, calling out "You're enormous!" as Chloe drags her away forcefully, urging her to be quiet.

As they move away, Chloe can clearly hear Kommissar's amused voice as she suggests to Pieter, "I think we should change her name to Feisty Mouse."

Beca keeps struggling as Chloe hauls her away with difficulty; for someone so small, she is surprisingly strong.

"Beca! Will you just stop?!" Chloe pleads and Beca finally goes limp in her arms.

"Why'd you stop me? I had them!" Beca insists as Chloe releases her and they stand off to the side of the room.

Raising her eyebrows in disbelief, Chloe responds, "Are you sure you didn't black out again? Because that was definitely not –"

"Okay!" Beca interrupts, hiding her face in her hands. "I know! I'm sorry!"

Chloe sighs loudly. She knows she's really angrier at Kommissar than she is at Beca, but she can't seem to stop herself as she practically shouts, "You need to control yourself around her! What is wrong with you? You're making it look like – like –" she cuts herself off and switches her tactic. "Like we don't know what we're doing! Seriously, what has gotten into you?"

Beca stares at her with wide eyes, small and contrite, and Chloe feels herself run out of steam at the look on her face. Running her hand through her hair, Chloe sighs and says, "Look… I didn't mean to yell. I'm sorry. They're just… they're getting in my head, too."

Beca nods rapidly and Chloe knows she's been forgiven.

"I'm sorry, too," Beca mumbles. "For the word vomit." She looks down and rubs her hand across the back of her neck, suddenly awkward.

Chloe frowns; she recognizes Beca's deer-in-the-headlights look and knows that something is really bothering her.

Beca takes a breath, still watching the floor, and says so quietly that Chloe has to lean in to hear her, "And… I'm sorry for, you know –"

She's cut off by a loud, happy yell. "Becaw!" Chloe, startled, looks up to see Jesse bounding into view.

"Hey!" he exclaims excitedly. Chloe is reminded strongly of a Golden Retriever.

Surprised, Beca jerks away from Chloe to spin around to face Jesse. "Hey!" she replies breathlessly. "What are you doing here? What is going on?"

Her voice sounds off, Chloe notes. She seems stressed to see Jesse and Chloe can't stop resentment from washing over her. Beca had clearly been about to say something important. However, they'd been interrupted yet again by this guy that apparently doesn't communicate well enough with his own girlfriend. For God's sake, they didn't even know they'd be in the same place.

The sound of a gong rings out and their strange host starts yelling about ninja lasers. Jesse moves away from Beca, whose eyes flick back to Chloe apologetically before they listen to instructions for their riff-off.

Trying to calm herself, Chloe takes several deep breaths while their host announces the riff-off and conducts the beatboxing battle. The Bellas need to be in top form to beat those German Deutsch-bags. If the Bellas can win here, they'll win at Worlds. If the Bellas win here, _that woman_ will leave Beca alone. They must win this riff-off.

Chloe's eyes narrow as DSM starts the battle with intense beatboxing. Kommissar struts forward arrogantly, filling the neutral space between teams to ensure that all eyes are on her. Pieter starts to sing while Kommissar circles her hips, once again accentuating her abs. She's extremely fit, as is the rest of DSM, Chloe notes with displeasure.

Glancing at Beca to gauge her reaction, Chloe expects to see the usual distain and amusement with which Beca typically views their competitors. However, her jaw drops with indignation when she sees that Beca is openly ogling Kommissar, closely examining her every twisting move as she dances. Attempting to get her attention, Chloe flicks her own hair over her shoulder and clears her throat, annoyed at Beca's reaction; unfortunately, Kommissar chooses that moment to take over the singing.

Kommissar commands the room as she sings, her gaze traveling languidly to each group before coming to stop at the Bellas. Or, specifically, at Beca. Beca, caught staring, glances away awkwardly, but looks almost immediately back to Kommissar. In a strong yet seductive voice, Kommissar belts the line, "Let me see that thong," as she lifts her hand to point directly at Beca.

From next to her, Chloe hears Beca make some sort of strangled noise, like a cat choking, even as Kommissar twists away slowly. In fact, several of the Bellas seem to have been affected; Stacie hums appreciatively, CR claps a hand over her mouth, and Lilly openly stares at Kommissar. She'd deny it if asked, but even Chloe has to admit Kommissar looks good in that top.

Shoving the thought aside impatiently, Chloe forces her face into a hard glare, wishing for the first time in her life that looks could kill.

The riff off progresses rapidly as each group bounces off the other. The Bellas and DSM inch closer to one another and the tension between them grows as the other groups are eliminated with time. Chloe is relieved when Beca breaks out of her daze to harmonize with her during Low and she almost thinks things are back to normal when Beca perfectly belts out Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats. That time, it's Chloe's turn to be enthralled as Beca confidently fills the room with her voice.

However, Chloe's bubble of hope is tested by the John Mayer category. DSM kicks it off, intentionally dancing and singing right next to the Bellas. Chloe is amused when Amy gives the finger to Pieter as he gets in her personal space. Kommissar writhes side to side, once again showing abs for days as she hits the high tones.

Kommissar takes the lead vocals as she watches the Bellas watch her. She winks at Beca, then immediately throws Chloe a gloating smirk.

That's it.

Chloe rushes forward to get right into Kommissar's face. As she belts out some Taylor Swift, she puts as much of her anger behind it as she can, finally letting out some of the emotion that had been frothing inside her. Kommissar examines her intently and Chloe notes with satisfaction that the arrogance normally etched onto her features temporarily makes room for surprise.

 _That's right,_ Chloe thinks as she sings. _I'm not giving up._ _You're not getting Beca – I mean, Worlds. You're not getting Worlds._

She's cut short by Bumper's insistence that Tina Turner dated John Mayer, which is mildly disturbing. When his group is eliminated, it comes down to just DSM and the Bellas. Chloe moves back to join her team, Beca welcoming her with a small smile that makes her feel as though Beca had gotten her message just as clearly as Kommissar had.

Or, maybe not. As DSM goes literally toe-to-toe with the Bellas, Kommissar's voice drips honey and she circles her hips; she's practically grinding on the air. Chloe immediately spots Beca staring unabashedly once again and something in her chest twinges with disappointment. She glances continuously between Beca and DSM, waiting for Beca's attention to shift back to her, but it never does.

This, and the growing intensity of the riff-off starts to wind Chloe so tightly she feels as though she's going to snap at any second. Why hasn't DSM broken yet? Why haven't the Bellas won? And why does Beca stare at Kommissar like a besotted puppy instead of at her?

Suddenly, it's all over. Their host had pointed at Emily, who had completely and utterly choked. They had lost in perhaps the most embarrassing way possible.

Chloe stands stock-still, rooted to the floor. She can't bear to look at Kommissar, knowing how gleeful she likely is. There's a funny ringing in her ears; the Bellas lost the riff-off, but it feels to Chloe as if she'd lost something much more important. Someone more important. Kommissar had won, had beaten Chloe.

The sound of DSM launching into an obnoxious rendition of Jump has Chloe absolutely livid. Before she knows what she's doing, she's flying over to where Emily and Beca had been speaking quietly.

A rational voice in the back of Chloe's mind reminds her that this is her fault as much as Emily's. They hadn't done enough to prepare the new girl for a riff-off and she'd been put on the spot unexpectedly. However, the larger, angrier part of Chloe is screaming at her to tear Emily a new one. So, that's what she does.

She doesn't remember the rest of the night very well. She vaguely recalls Beca trying to reign her in, which had only made her more incensed because it reminded her of how Beca had been acting all night. She remembers Jesse stealing Beca away from her, as usual. She remembers finding a bathroom to hide in and cry for fifteen minutes until she'd gotten a text from Stacie about free drinks. She doesn't remember much after that.

It's not until the next day, hungover and miserable, that she supposes she should apologize to Emily. She hadn't been mad at _her_. Not really.


	2. Jealousy's a Bitch (Part 2)

**Jealousy... (Part 2)**

Beca has a secret.

Chloe knows she's hiding something from her and from the rest of the Bellas. She really isn't all that sneaky about it, either. She's almost never around the Bella house and no one knows where she goes. She gets phone calls at weird times and always leaves the room or even exits the house entirely to answer them so that no one can overhear her.

More than once, Chloe has walked into Beca's room to see the brunette working diligently at her computer, tongue snared between her teeth in concentration, only for her to slam her laptop shut once she realizes Chloe's there. At first, she thought Beca was making something for her or for the Bellas as a surprise, but it's been happening for months, since even before the riff-off. She's getting worried.

It better not have to do with that German woman.

In addition to her strange behavior, Beca has been riding the Mood Swing playground. She's been more withdrawn than usual and seems stressed, though Chloe knows she's got a lighter class schedule than normal this year. Grumpiness is nothing new for Beca, but this is at the next level. At times, it's like the sarcastic, angry Freshman Beca is standing in their living room and Chloe hates it. At other times, Beca seems energized and happy, confident in everything she does. It's confusing.

For a while, she wonders if Beca could be pregnant.

She really hopes not, because it would be Jesse's.

Chloe has tried to reach her with light touches on the back and arms, displaying her typical disregard for personal space. She's vamped it up slightly, though, not about to forget how Beca had watched Kommissar's dancing. She always sits next to Beca at every Bellas event. She's offered Netflix nights, jam sessions, and countless backrubs, some of which Beca agreed to (though not so much the backrubs). She wants to help, but she can only do so much when Beca doesn't confide in her.

It makes her sad. She thought they'd moved past this.

She's even tried talking to Amy about it; as Beca's roommate, surely Amy must have some idea of what's going on. However, when Chloe cornered her in the bathroom one morning (bathrooms are really the best place to corner people) to ask about it, Amy merely made that weird panic noise she makes when topics such as Bumper come up and mumbled something about Beca and a dingo. When, in a moment of pure desperation, she'd asked if Beca was pregnant, Amy laughed so hard she started choking. Chloe gave up on asking her about Beca after that. She also gave up on the pregnancy theory.

Some of the other Bellas have also noticed Beca's absence. Emily always asks about her when she isn't there, which is sweet of her but makes Chloe worry more. Stacie has said multiple times that Beca hasn't answered some message or other from her. Even CR has commented on the whole situation a few times, reminding Chloe that Beca hasn't created their set for Worlds yet.

Chloe tries not to worry about it too much. She fails.

Her concern only grows when she gets a call from Jesse one Friday night shortly after Barden's winter break. It's nearly 10:30pm, so she's alone in her bedroom, sitting at her desk and reading when her phone goes off.

She frowns at her phone screen as it rings, confused as to why his name is on it. She has his number and she knows he obviously has hers, but they both acknowledge it's only for Beca's sake. They've never so much as texted each other, so a call this late at night is exceedingly unprecedented. She swallows hard as she realizes that he must be calling about Beca. Her mind spirals, imagining car accidents and extreme injury and hospital rooms and –

"Hello?" She answers hesitantly, trying to remember if he and Beca had a date that night. Her stomach churns unpleasantly with nerves.

"Chloe?" Jesse asks. Despite her anxiety, she rolls her eyes; who else would it be?

Slightly breathlessly, she says, "Yeah. What's up?"

"Do you know where Beca is?"

"Uh, no… should I?"

Jesse pauses and she can practically hear his brain whirring on the other end of the phone. Chloe moves from her desk to sit on her bed. His voice sounds different on the phone, younger.

"Well. It's just. I thought…" he trails off. Chloe can tell he's having a hard time talking to her, as if it hurts him to admit he doesn't know where his long-term girlfriend is. He sighs, then continues. "It's pretty late, and we were supposed to meet up, like, two hours ago. She's not answering her phone, so I wondered if she forgot and is with you."

Chloe's eyebrows draw together as she replies, "No, she's not with me. I actually have no idea where she is. Sorry," she thinks to add at the last second.

"It's fine," says Jesse hurriedly, clearly not wanting to talk to her for longer than necessary. "I think I maybe know where she is now. Have a good night, Chloe."

"You, too. But where –" Chloe's question is cut short when Jesse hangs up on her.

She pulls back from her phone, offended. Would it have killed him to say where he thought Beca was so that she wouldn't worry? And why had he been in such a rush at the end?

Chloe shakes her head, bewildered. Jesse's call upsets her; she knows Beca can be forgetful, but standing Jesse up is unlike her…

She starts to run through possible options for Beca's whereabouts, mentally checking each one off as she goes. Not work, because Beca stopped working at the radio station at the start of the school year and she'd have said if she'd gotten a new job. Not with Jesse, which is somewhat satisfying in a petty way. Not in the Bella house, unless she crept in without Chloe hearing her. Definitely not with her dad, even though their relationship has been improving. Maybe at the library or out to eat by herself, but that's unlikely this late.

As Chloe ticks off each potential option, her concern grows and her thoughts take a dark turn. What if something bad had happened? But, surely, the hospital would have called by now; she and Jesse are Beca's emergency contacts. But then, hospitals wouldn't hear about something like a missing person.

Oh God. Beca's been kidnapped.

Wait, no. That doesn't make sense. Chloe doesn't know anyone who would attack Beca, and Barden has always felt very safe. Besides, Beca doesn't have any enemies.

Except… an arrogant a cappella group. Maybe DSM had somehow managed to ambush her? Chloe wouldn't put it past them to sabotage another group, particularly the co-captain of one.

Pondering this possibility, Chloe reclines against her headboard, tapping her hands absentmindedly on her bedspread. It would be hard to take down Beca, who is small but scrappy. Stacie had found that out the hard way when she'd once tried to steal some of her fries; Beca had reacted so violently that Stacie had limped for a week.

Smiling at that memory, Chloe scraps her potential kidnapping theory. Okay. So, that leaves Beca wandering off on her own accord. Who would she go with? A classmate? Not likely. A new friend? Less likely. Plus, why would Jesse not know about it?

A sudden chill washes over Chloe and she stills her restless hands. What if Beca is with someone that neither she nor Jesse know about? Someone that Beca didn't tell anyone about? Someone like… a date. Almost as soon as the thought occurs to her, Chloe pushes it away. Beca isn't a cheater. She and Jesse may not always communicate, but she'd never cheat on him. Chloe's almost certain of it.

And yet… she can't help but recall how Beca had stared at Kommissar, watching her with such clear attraction and, well, lust. Isn't that like cheating? Unease spurs Chloe to resume her hand tapping, faster this time. It's possible. In fact…

A bitter taste fills her mouth as a mental image of Beca and Kommissar together swims to the surface of her mind. Could that be the case? Could Beca be sneaking off to see Kommissar?

Chloe bounds off her bed to pace her bedroom floor, unable to sit still. No. No way. DSM probably isn't even in the United States anymore now that their tour ended.

Yet, a small, snide voice in the back of her head whispers that it would explain a lot. Like why Beca has been so secretive. Why she hasn't told Jesse about it, or any of the Bellas. And why Beca had been so entranced by Kommissar at every encounter…

No. Chloe shuts down that train of thought. Beca is not a cheater. She wouldn't do that to Jesse or to the Bellas. She hasn't even said she's into women! It's not possible.

With a short laugh at her temporary insanity, Chloe runs a hand roughly through her hair. She needs to get some air.

Not bothering to shut the door to her room, Chloe makes for the stairs, bounding down them. Amy, Stacie, Flo, CR, Ashley, and Jessica are camped out in the living room watching Mulan. There is no sign of Lilly, and Emily is at her dorm. She briefly considers joining the Bellas on the couch, but really wants to clear her head first, so she moves past them to open the front door.

"Gah!" comes a surprised shout, and she nearly rams into Beca, who had clearly been on her way inside.

"Bec!" she squeals happily, throwing her arms around her.

"Mmpf," says Beca, whose face is squashed into Chloe's neck. After tolerating the hug for about two seconds, Beca squirms free and Chloe takes in her tired appearance. She's wearing a dark shirt and jeans, so nothing that screams "date" but still looks nice.

 _Stop thinking it was a date,_ Chloe chides herself.

"Where were you?" she asks, trying to keep her tone light.

"Oh…" says Beca, her eyes widening. "I was at a meeting for a group project, didn't mean to go this late."

"On a Friday?"

"Um… you know me… gotta study."

It's a weak explanation, but Chloe doesn't want to fight about it. Mainly, she's relieved Beca's back home with her. "Okay," she replies easily. "A few of us are watching Mulan, you want to join?"

"Um. No, thanks, I'm pretty tired. I think I'll just go to bed?" Beca's voice raises in pitch at the end, making it sound like a question.

Chloe nods, disappointed. "Yeah, that's cool."

Beca smiles at her tightly, then moves around her and into the house. As she reaches the stairs, Chloe twists around and calls to her retreating back, "You should text Jesse. He was looking for you."

Beca freezes, one foot hovering over a stair, and it's a second before she looks over her shoulder at Chloe. "Ah. Yeah. I guess I forgot about that. Did he come to the house?"

"He called, actually. Just asked if you were here. When I said no, he hung up."

"That's all?" Beca asks, searching Chloe's face.

Chloe nods, wondering why the details matter so much.

Beca smiles again and for a second she looks almost relieved, but her expression clears before Chloe can get a better read on it.

"Great. I'll go text him, then. Night."

"Night," Chloe echoes. She watches as Beca climbs the stairs and enters her own bedroom, closing the door.

Chloe moves out onto the front step, leaning her back against the side of the house. A group project, that's all it was. Beca hadn't seemed entirely truthful, but Chloe couldn't think of why she wouldn't have been.

With a sigh, she berates herself for even considering that Beca is sneaking off to see Kommissar. Out here on the porch, with Beca safely inside, the concept is laughable. This German woman is making her paranoid. Besides, even if that were the case, she'd have no real reason to be upset about it. Jesse's dating Beca, not her. It had been a stupid thought.

Shaking her head at herself, Chloe turns to go back into the house. As she moves, a rustling in the bushes next to the front porch makes her pause. She stares into the underbrush, expecting to see a rabbit or some other rodent. Her heart jolts when she catches sight of big, bright eyes staring back at her, only to realize that it's Lilly hiding in the bush holding what appears to be a can of Cheez-Whiz.

"I've filled this with the blood of my enemies," comes a harsh whisper.

Chloe smiles vaguely before spinning and launching herself back inside, closing the door firmly behind her but not locking it.

Once inside, she can hear Beca's muffled voice upstairs, covered by the sound of the TV. With a quick glance at the assembled Bellas to ensure no one's watching, she bites her lip and cautiously moves up the steps to stop outside Beca's door. She knows she shouldn't eavesdrop, but also… Beca's got a secret. She could be talking to someone involved in it.

Crouching slightly and pressing her ear near where the door meets the frame, she clearly hears Beca's voice as she talks on the phone.

"Look, I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to forget, it's just been a crazy week."

Oh. Beca must be talking to Jesse about missing their date. She hears bedsprings groan and knows Beca must have sat down on her bed. Or, more likely, flopped down on it dramatically. Chloe almost turns to leave, not wanting to hear a conversation between them, when –

"Yeah, I can't believe you called her!" comes a sudden exclamation.

Chloe nearly whacks her head on the doorframe, startled. She glares at it, then leans in closer to make sure she hears every word now that Beca's talking about her.

"No, I know you didn't. She doesn't know, it's okay."

Chloe raises her eyebrows, annoyed. So, Jesse gets to know about her little secret? Then Chloe huffs, irritated with herself. It might not even be about that. Beca could be talking about something else completely.

"Because, I… I just can't, okay?"

Beca's voice is quieter now, and Chloe has to strain her ears to hear what's happening. This pause is longer, and when Beca speaks again, the conversation has shifted.

"Mmm," Beca hums. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Chloe's not sure she's ever heard Beca apologize to Jesse so much in one conversation. She doesn't like it.

"I love you, too."

Chloe flinches and she turns away from the door instinctively. It's time for her to go. This eavesdropping thing isn't her cup of tea after all. It's immoral and she didn't get anything from it except some mild guilt.

After a deep breath to clear her head, she moves quietly down the stairs to join the others in watching Mulan. It's one of her favorites and she's hoping it will let her forget the amount of crazy that escaped her all in one night.

"Hey, can I jump in?" she asks the assembled Bellas, who immediately make room for her. She perches herself between Stacie and Flo, who passes her the popcorn. She tries to put Beca out of her head and gets lost in "I'll Make a Man Out of You."

Later that night, she debates dyeing her hair blonde, but Stacie talks her out of it.

* * *

She knows calling Aubrey at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves had been the right decision. The Bellas need something drastic to fix their sound, and a retreat in the middle of the woods is just that.

Besides, if Chloe's being completely honest with herself, it's not only the Bellas as a group that are out of sync; it's her and Beca.

As much as Chloe has been trying over the past months to bring Beca back to her from wherever she goes, she can tell Beca's not fully with her anymore. She's not sure exactly when things changed between them, but lately, when she looks at Beca she's looking at a stranger.

Because of that, Chloe has been holding on more tightly than ever, not only to Beca but also to the Bellas as a whole. She's the only one who seems to see what everyone else is ignoring; this is their last year together. After graduation and Worlds, they'll all go separate ways and will never be the Bellas again. There will be no more crazy house dinners, no more exciting and dangerous Bella/Treble parties, no more yelling down the hall for one another, no more group movies. The Bellas, as Chloe knows them, will be gone. And worse, if they fail at the Worlds, there will be no more Bellas, period. Why is she the only one to understand that? Future generations of Barden women won't bond as Bellas, won't find their best friends, won't find the family she has been lucky enough to have.

Beca is the one person Chloe thought would hang on to the Bellas as tightly as she is. She thought Beca would be by her side the whole way, fighting tooth and nail for victory at Worlds, not only for them but also for future Bellas. Even if Beca won't admit it, Chloe knows that without the Bellas, Beca would still be lonely, angry, and shut off. She thought that Beca would fight for the Bellas to save someone else from that life. But no.

For the first time since they've met, Beca has let her down.

The worst part is, she has no idea why. She doesn't know where Beca's been sneaking off to. She doesn't know why Beca stopped caring about the Bellas. She doesn't know why Beca stopped caring about her. This mysterious something or someone that's taking up so much of Beca's time must be pretty special to her. More special than the Bellas. More special than her.

Chloe doesn't understand. Her chest aches constantly and it has become nearly impossible to hold herself together every day.

They need the retreat. She needs the retreat. She needs Beca to need the retreat. And yet, all Beca can do is complain constantly, as if she has somewhere more important to be. Of course, to her, it probably feels like she does have more important places to be. Or someone more important to be with. It's not fair.

Chloe kind of hates her for it.

No, she doesn't. She loves Beca. That's why her betrayal hurts so much.

That's why she and Beca need this retreat. Oh, and all the Bellas, too. Obviously.

So, now they're here. And, okay, maybe the shotgun over Aubrey's shoulder had been a tad excessive. Yet, Chloe can't deny that Aubrey's methods have proven effective in the past.

All in all, it hasn't been bad. Sure, they'd spent most of the afternoon putting up two tents only to have one get squashed by a tree, but that was a minor setback. They'd managed pretty well with only one tent, Chloe thinks.

However, Beca disagrees.

"The air we're breathing right now is at least 90% fart," she says angrily from right next to Chloe.

Next comes Fat Amy's voice: "That reminds me – I need to see a man about a horse."

Chloe wrinkles her nose and does her best to tune out whatever Amy says next, because gross. Instead, her mind goes, predictably, back to Beca.

Beca, who is beautiful inside and out, who is grumpy and sarcastic on the surface, but is a complete softie inside. Beca, who makes music that speaks to Chloe's soul. Beca, who is one of the kindest people she's ever met, and who cares so, so much but doesn't let anyone else know about it.

Beca, who has a boyfriend.

Beca, who might have some interest in women, if her interactions with Kommissar are anything to go on.

Beca, who is the most important person in her life.

Beca, who is distancing herself from all of them.

Beca, who is incredibly unhappy to be at the retreat that's meant to save everything.

"What are we doing?" Beca's whisper is harsh as Chloe turns to face her. The angle is a little weird since they're upside down, but Chloe can work with it. It reminds her of a movie she saw once.

"We're bonding," Chloe responds softly. "You seem so tense. Do you need a backrub?" She reaches out a gentle hand to push chocolate strands of hair away from a forehead, only for Beca to jerk away. She tries not to let that bother her; it's become the norm lately.

She wonders if Beca would have pulled away from Kommissar.

"Several body parts are rubbing my back right now, thank you," Beca replies bitingly.

If Chloe's going to use this retreat to bring Beca back to her, she knows she needs to act quickly. She desperately misses her best friend. Her Beca. She needs to do something drastic to break through to her, like barging into her shower again.

Unfortunately, plumbing is in limited supply, as Aubrey is refusing to let them use the cabins.

Okay. So. A different shock tactic. Chloe can only think of one, and it scares her. With any luck, it will scare Beca, too.

"You know Beca," she starts, "we're very close, but I think this retreat really is gonna let us discover _everything_ about each other."

A flicker of alarm crosses Beca's face. "Is that right?" she asks.

Only then does it occur to Chloe that what she's about to say might get Beca to open up to her about her own sexuality. It's been pretty clear to her for a while that Beca is attracted to women, or at least, to one specific woman. Now, Beca needs to figure that out for herself. Maybe a certain admission will help her to do just that.

Chloe nods, and fighting her sudden nervousness, whispers, "You know, one of my biggest regrets is that I didn't do enough experimenting in college."

It's true; she's wishes she could have had more experiences with women (or one specifically). However, she'd never intended to tell Beca about herself like this, though all the Bellas know that she doesn't really care whether she dates a guy or a girl. It's scary. She feels completely exposed, but if it gets Beca to confide in her again, it'll be worth it.

And if Beca replies with something similar, well, that's a nice bonus.

"You're so weird," says Beca, and Chloe's heart thuds painfully.

"Thanks," she fires back automatically, grateful that her voice doesn't betray her.

"I want to go home," Beca says suddenly, changing the subject. There's a weird look on her face, but before Chloe can analyze it fully, she's turning until Chloe's face is filled with her hair.

Ouch. Chloe slowly turns to lie on her back, her mind spinning.

She should have known better. As close as Beca feels to the Bellas, she's not about to admit something huge about herself in a tent crowded with them. It had been a stupid thought; even if it had just been the two of them, Chloe's not sure Beca would tell her something like that anymore. If there's anything to tell, that is. Even if Beca's response is a defense mechanism, she has no idea what it means. Is that an 'I'm totally gay but not ready to tell anyone,' or is that an 'Ew, gay,' situation?

Her thoughts are interrupted when Amy calls for some help with a sticky situation. She sings the first song that comes to mind.

 _I'm all out of faith_ _  
_ _This is how I feel, I'm cold and I am shamed_ _  
_ _Lying naked on the floor_ _  
_ _Illusion never changed_ _  
_ _Into something real_ _  
_ _Wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn_

By the time Amy gets back to the tent, Chloe has tears in her eyes.

She'd exposed herself to Beca, hoping her best friend would reappear, only to be shut down. Beca had rejected her. Disappointment rises in her throat, threatening to choke her, so she closes her eyes and forces herself to hold it together until sleep comes.

* * *

The fight with Beca had been bad. Like, really bad. Chloe can't remember the last time she'd been so angry, but then, Beca heightens her every emotion.

Watching Beca walk away had been excruciating; even though she knows she'd have come back to the Bellas eventually, because she always does, a part of Chloe had been scared that Beca was done for good this time. She'd never seen Beca so stressed and knowing that she'd contributed to that stress was painful.

That's when the bear trap had swooped in to save the day.

And now, surrounded by the Bellas and sitting around a campfire, Chloe feels more content than she thought possible this time yesterday. She is going to graduate. All the Bellas have planned for their respective futures. They are going to win Worlds. And Beca isn't seeing that German woman in secret. Chloe can deal with a hidden internship; in fact, she's incredibly proud of Beca for scoring such a great gig. What Chloe can't deal with is Kommissar. So really, everything has worked out much better than it could have.

While she still wishes that Beca could have supported her more this year, she understands why Beca had been so distant. It must have been incredibly stressful keeping something as big as this internship hidden. Now, though, Chloe knows Beca will try harder. She finally feels like her best friend is on her side again.

Beca looks beautiful tonight. The firelight caresses her face, bringing her features into soft focus. Her expression is open, vulnerable, and more relaxed than it has been in months. This is the real Beca. She looks like an angel, and Chloe wishes she could trap the image in her mind forever.

Inspired by Beca's uncharacteristic sentimentality, Chloe sings Beca's audition song from almost four years ago. That song has been on her mind quite a bit lately. Each of the Bellas picks it up, softly and slowly, and they sound outstanding as a group. Despite that, Chloe only has eyes for Beca, who meets her gaze steadily.

When the song concludes, Beca smiles shyly at her with so much trust and happiness that her heart soars.

In that instant, Chloe knows she's royally screwed.

She's head over heels for Beca, and if she's honest with herself, always has been. She thought she'd moved on when Jesse came into the picture, but she knows now that's not true. It's Beca. It's always been Beca.

She really hates Kommissar.

Their moment is shattered completely when Amy's hoisted into the air by yet another bear trap.

"Shake it off, Amy," Beca says bracingly as she moves to help.

As Chloe also starts to rise, a light pressure lands on her arm and she looks down to see Aubrey's hand resting there.

"Stay," Aubrey whispers as the other Bellas rush to free Amy.

Chloe raises an eyebrow in question but waits to say anything until they're alone. Lilly is the last to leave as she walks away in the complete opposite direction of Amy and the other Bellas, disappearing into the woods.

Twisting in her chair to face Aubrey fully, Chloe asks softly, "What's going on?"

Glancing around to make sure they're alone, Aubrey responds tersely, "I saw that."

"Saw… what?" Chloe is completely at a loss.

"I saw your toner. For Beca," comes Aubrey's hushed reply. "And what's this about a 'Bhloe?'"

There's a tense pause. Across the campsite, CR reaches to hand Amy a s'more through the netting of the bear trap.

Chloe feels her face warming even as she scoffs. "I can't believe you still say toner." She decides it's best to ignore 'Bhloe' for now.

"Don't change the subject," Aubrey warns. "I thought you gave up on that gremlin when she got with Jesse?"

The Bellas, minus Chloe, Aubrey, and Lilly, are now hovering under Amy, clearly hoping to catch her if the net breaks.

" _Aubrey_ ," Chloe hisses over the sound of Amy referring to them all as useless sluts. "Don't call her that. She's changed."

"Maybe, but her romantic status hasn't. You need to be careful."

Stacie has started poking at Amy with a large stick.

Chloe's expression falls with her mood. "Look," she says, "I know it's not ideal. But I can't help it. And sometimes, I wonder if she feels the same."

Aubrey sighs and clenches her jaw. She looks over at Beca, who is reluctantly allowing Flo to climb on her shoulders while Flo says something about dysentery.

"I won't lie," Aubrey eventually continues, "stranger things have happened." At this, her gaze wanders briefly to Stacie for some reason, then snaps back to stare at Chloe. "But until she gets her head out of her ass, it's not going to be fun for you."

Chloe opens her mouth to respond, but their conversation comes to an abrupt halt as Amy crashes down on the waiting Bellas below, screaming as she falls. Looking up, Chloe sees Lilly once again hanging upside down, now armed with what appears to be a hacksaw.

"Worst. Vacation. Ever," Amy grumbles from on top of a groaning pile of Bellas.


	3. Jealousy's a Bitch (Part 3)

**Jealousy... (Part 3)**

DSM clearly went all-out for Worlds. They put on one of the most impressive a cappella performances Chloe has ever seen. Their choreography is perfectly timed, the music artfully arranged, and their voices in complete harmony. It is utterly astounding.

Chloe hates every minute of it.

She feels like she's about five seconds away from imitating Aubrey and showing everyone in the vicinity what she'd eaten for dinner, but she knows her nerves must be nothing to what Beca's probably feeling. If they could really pull this off, getting nearly forty people on stage…

It doesn't help that Chloe had watched Beca watching Kommissar during the entire DSM performance. It had irritated her, but her own nerves had kept her mind occupied enough that she didn't feel the need to smack Beca upside the head.

However, that may change shortly. DSM moves off stage to the sound of thousands of fans chanting for them and heads directly toward the Bellas. Kommissar's gaze finds Beca and she bites her lip in anticipation.

Chloe's already on her way to being pissed off.

Wiping nonexistent sweat from her neck as she steps up to them, Kommissar purrs in her deep voice, "Hear that? They chant for us." Unsurprisingly, she is only speaking to Beca.

Chloe isn't sure how it happens, but suddenly Kommissar is much too close. She reaches a hand toward Beca's face, causing her flinch back a little. Chloe's eyes widen in shock; is this chick for real?

"Now, don't cry too hard when you lose, alright? Makes eyes puffy," she emphasizes her point by stroking her thumb across Beca's cheek.

Chloe can't quite believe Beca is really letting this happen; normally, Beca would have shoved away anyone that tried to touch her. Chloe glares at Kommissar with as much hatred as she can. How dare this woman touch her Beca? Surely, Beca's going to throw her hand off at any moment.

But Beca only whispers, "Your hands are so soft."

Chloe's glare breaks when she looks over at Beca, completely exasperated.

Kommissar replies haughtily, "I'm sorry, I don't speak loser, what did you say?"

That's obnoxious. Chloe opens her mouth to give Kommissar a piece of her mind, only to be startled when Pieter inserts, "She actually speaks 8 languages, but loser is not one of them." She'd forgotten he was even there, such is her focus on Kommissar.

"Everything must come to an end, even the Bellas," says Kommissar imperiously without giving them a chance to fight back. At that, a surge of rage sweeps through Chloe, though she knows there's no way Beca will allow Kommissar to speak to them like that.

Sure enough, as DSM files away, Beca leaps forward to yell after them, "Ha! Your sweat smells like cinnamon!"

Jesus Christ. Never mind.

Frustration fills Beca's features as she realizes what she's shouted. "Damn it!"

Chloe sighs and looks at her feet. This is not helping.

"Okay, shake it off, guys, it's fine." Beca's voice, strong and steady, surprises her and she looks up. "I know that was… well, whatever. It's fine. But listen. We've got this. We are so going to win. They won't know what hit them. So, let's go out and just – "

"Crush it!" Amy shouts.

"Yeah, that!" Beca yells back excitedly, waving her hands in front of her. "We're gonna win Worlds!"

Lost in fiery navy eyes, Chloe dimly registers the huge smile spreading over her own face. "We got this, Bellas!" she cries out to the sound of cheers.

She trusts Beca completely. Obviously they'll win. It's not even a question.

* * *

They win.

When Beca launches herself into Chloe's arms, almost causing them both to fall, Chloe feels like she could do anything. As long as Beca's with her, everything will be okay.

* * *

The Post-Worlds party is already turning out to be an epic one. It's a good thing it's taking place outside behind the performance stage; Chloe's not sure any indoor venue would hold this many people. An impromptu dance area is at the center of the field, with tables set up on the side for food and drinks. People mill around, talking and socializing, while others sit on patches of grass or on the larger rocks strewing the lawn.

As Chloe meanders through the party, she looks around to survey the barely controlled chaos that surrounds her. It seems as if every group in the competition is there, with each having brought several guests. Across the lawn, the Canadian group mingles with the Brazilians. The French group and the Indian group are bonding over the food table. The Spanish group is encouraging a round of body shots, grabbing anyone in close proximity, so she spins away from them before she can get roped in. The a cappella announcers, John and Gail, are not so lucky; Chloe watches as one member of the group drags them into participating.

As she makes her way back to the drink table for her third drink, Chloe feels herself exhale fully for what seems like the first time since Muffgate. They'd done it. They'd actually won. She likes to think that she never doubted them, but if she's being honest with herself, she'd been terrified of the alternative. Even now, thinking about what would have happened if they'd lost… well. That doesn't matter now. Now, she only wants to bask in their victory.

She reaches for one of the many wine coolers placed on the table with a satisfied sigh. Everything has finally fallen into place. The Bellas won Worlds and will be reinstated for Emily to carry on the group. Chloe is going to graduate and find a job doing… something. She had been thinking teaching, but she'd forgotten about her love of animals. So. There's that to consider now.

Chloe turns, wine cooler in hand, as she scopes the overly crowded party for her fellow Bellas.

After a moment, she spots CR, Flo, Stacie, and an extremely reluctant-looking Aubrey heading toward the Spanish group – plus John and Gail – for body shots. She watches as Aubrey hesitates, only for Stacie to grab her hand and drag her along.

Across from then, she sees Ashley and Jessica (which one is which again?) standing off to the side, sipping beers and observing the mass of a cappella nerds that is the entire party.

Craning her neck, she eventually finds Emily across the field, one hand holding onto one of Benji's and the other covering her eyes to avoid seeing her mom's dancing; Katherine Junk appears to be revisiting her synchronized booty shake in the center of the dance area to much applause.

"Get it, Mrs. Junk!" Amy yells from behind the Canadian group, causing the portion of Emily's face that Chloe can see to turn bright red.

Lilly is, of course, nowhere to be found.

So that leaves…

"Hey, Chlo," Beca's voice comes from behind her.

A joyful smile washing over her face, Chloe turns to look into unfocused blue eyes.

"Hey, Becs. How're you doing?"

Beca smiles back happily and reaches out to put a hand heavily onto Chloe's shoulder. "I'm so good. So, so good. We won, dude!"

Chloe can't stop the laughter that escapes her. "Yes, we did! Uh, exactly how much have you had to drink?"

Furrowing her brow, Beca lifts the hand she'd placed on Chloe's shoulder and starts counting on her fingers. She gets to five, then trails off looking confused.

"Umm…" she starts. "Like… three? Or maybe… six?"

Chloe cringes; they all know Beca's a total lightweight, so six is quite a lot for her.

"Yeah, Bec, let's maybe stop for now, okay?"

Pouting, Beca whines back, "But I'm thirsty."

"Let's get you some water, then," Chloe says firmly as she reaches to grab Beca by the shoulders, holding her steady; she'd started to sway in place.

She steers Beca back to the drinks in search of water, just in time to see DSM arrive together, slightly late to the event. They were probably too busy nursing their egos following their second-place loss to be on time.

Chloe unintentionally makes eye contact with Kommissar and, even though she knows she shouldn't, she allows a gloating smile to spread across her face. Kommissar smirks back, not looking at all put out by their loss. In fact, she appears almost predatory as her gaze shifts to Beca.

Chloe turns away from DSM, not liking the expression on Kommissar's face but deciding to ignore it. Nothing can burst her happy bubble.

Except – "Where's Jesse?" Beca slurs from within Chloe's grasp.

"I don't know," Chloe says shortly as they reach the drink table.

"Hmm. That's okay," Beca sighs. "I didn't even know he was going to be here."

Chloe doesn't reply as she grabs a water bottle for Beca and untwists the top before handing it to her. Beca takes a huge gulp, some of it dribbling down her chin. Chloe wants to wipe it away for her, but Beca clumsily swipes the back of her own hand under her mouth before Chloe can do something stupid.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe spots DSM moving as a pack toward them, likely headed for the drinks. She has no desire to see them now; anything could come out of a six-drinks-in-Beca.

Grabbing Beca's arm, Chloe quickly insists, "Let's go dance!"

It's a sign of how far gone Beca is that she merely nods her assent and moves to follow Chloe without any of her usual reluctance. Chloe rushes them to the edge of the dance area as quickly as she can, weaving around the clusters of a cappella performers. She grabs both of Beca's hands in her own and tries to get Beca to dance with her. Beca has already managed to lose the water bottle.

She does her best to lead Beca into a sort of jumping waltz, spinning around and trying to stay on beat, but Beca is either too drunk or not drunk enough for her to do anything but jerk around awkwardly and try not to fall over. Glancing over Beca's shoulder, Chloe watches Kommissar slam back four shots in rapid succession at the drink table and walk away like it's nothing. That woman is seriously frightening.

Chloe's attention is pulled back to Beca when she yells in her ear to be heard over the music, "Chlo, you suck at dancing!"

"What?" Chloe shrieks back, mildly offended. "It's not me! If you'd just relax and stop fooling around…"

The wicked grin that Beca shoots her sends a chill down her spine.

She knows Beca can dance. After all, they've had four years of dance and cardio training for the Bellas together. However, it's one thing to move to choreographed steps, but it's entirely different to dance freely to music. While they've attended many Bella/Treble parties, Beca has never really allowed herself to cut loose.

So Chloe is shocked when Beca throws her arms around her neck, pulling their bodies close. Chloe hands automatically rise to rest on Beca's hips. Beca looks into her eyes, smirks, and starts to move. Her slim hips slowly rock side to side, perfectly matching the beat of the music. As her hips tilt, Beca's upper body moves in sync, drawing Chloe's eyes down. Chloe's not quite sure how it happens, but her arms are suddenly wrapped around Beca and she's pulling her closer until they're flush against one another.

Beca's hips lead their dance with a constant rhythm, spurring Chloe to match her every movement. Chloe notices how well their bodies fit together, the over-excitable part of her brain screaming that they're made for one another. Beca's eyes slide closed and her eyebrows draw together in concentration. At this proximity, Chloe can see every beautiful detail of her face and she's staring, trying to commit this moment to memory.

A hand slips into her hair and Chloe has to stop herself from groaning at the sensation. Beca is practically rolling her body against Chloe's, their hips coming together perfectly. Chloe's breath catches when Beca's chest brushes against hers and her body burns at the contact. Her fingers twitch on Beca's lower back, begging Beca to move even closer.

Without warning, Beca slips a thigh between her legs. She's suddenly on fire, fighting against a moan trying to escape.

She wants more. She wants to lower herself onto that thigh. She wants to press her body impossibly closer to Beca's. She wants to taste Beca's lips. She wants to spin Beca around, grind her front into Beca's ass, and kiss down her neck. She wants everything. She wants –

As quickly as it had appeared, Beca's leg vanishes from between hers and she's stumbling back from Chloe until their bodies are separated by a safe distance. Chloe takes in the sight of Beca's flushed cheeks, darkened eyes, and heaving chest. Something low in her stomach clenches tightly as she realizes she must look the same way.

But something's wrong. Beca looks scared, her eyes darting around as if to make sure no one saw them. Her hands are clenched into fists at her side.

Chloe takes a moment to gather herself, then asks cautiously, "Beca?"

"I'm good, just, I got really hot. Can we please sit?"

Chloe has to bite her lip to refrain from her immediate answer to the 'hot' part of that, so she nods and allows Beca to lead her away from the dance area and back to a more open part of the field to take a breather. She also desperately needs to cool off.

"Is this better?" she asks once they've moved far enough away. Her lust is quickly fading to nervousness as she thinks about what they were just doing. She really hopes Beca's not freaking out.

Beca nods, looking more like herself away from the crowd on the dance floor. "Yeah," she replies, "too many people I guess."

Relief fills Chloe at the normalcy in Beca's tone. She'd been worried that something she'd done had made Beca want to stop dancing with her, but now Beca's looking at her like she always does, if still slightly flushed.

Wanting to double check that everything is truly okay, Chloe states tentatively, "So, you can dance."

Beca grins back, looking immensely pleased with herself. "Yeah, I got those mad skills."

She does some sort of weird arm movement that very well might be an actual gang sign, but it makes them both laugh and any residual tension dissipates.

"Whatever, weirdo…" Chloe responds with an affectionate smile, happy that they're still in a good place. "Let's finish cooling you off."

She's about to go to the drink stand to get Beca another water when she spots Kommissar, this time alone and moving in their direction, her eyes searing into Beca.

"Heads up," Chloe mutters. "German woman incoming. Should we move?" She wants to make sure Beca knows what's going on before Kommissar arrives.

"It's whatever," Beca replies easily. Chloe can tell she's still fairly tipsy, though not as bad as she had been before the dancing and water.

Chloe looks to Kommissar again to see she's drawing steadily closer. She narrows her eyes and tries her best to appear menacing even as her stomach rolls with nerves. Why can't this woman leave Beca alone? Surely the flirting had only been a tactic; she doesn't really _like_ Beca. Right?

Chloe reaches out to rest a hand on the small of Beca's back protectively as Kommissar comes up to them.

Kommissar opens her mouth to say something but Chloe speaks over her.

"Whatever you're going to say, it doesn't matter. We won, fair and square!"

Beca gives a sharp nod beside her, only to stumble from moving her head; Chloe adds gentle pressure to her back to keep her upright.

Kommissar barely looks phased as her eyes pass through Chloe to land directly on Beca.

"Feisty Mouse," she says, "I was only coming to tell you how adorable you looked both on stage and at this party. Your angry friend doesn't seem to like hearing that, however."

Chloe's lips thin at the emphasis Kommissar placed on the word 'friend.' She can tell the German is barely even tipsy after her four shots; if anything, she's only more relaxed and confident.

"Yeah, well," Beca tries valiantly, her eyes darting around, "you looked… more than adorable. Like, you are the… embodiment of perfection."

Her gaze flicks briefly to Kommissar's chest before frantically shooting back up to her face. Chloe is unpleasantly reminded of an encounter in the shower years ago.

"Beca, let's just –" she pleads, only to be stopped when Kommissar raises a hand to cut her off.

"You know, I haven't had the chance to properly thank you for all of the compliments you've given me," Kommissar says suggestively, and Chloe watches as her eyes trail slowly down and back up Beca's frame. "Now that we're no longer enemies… let's become friends. Want to become… acquainted?"

Glancing to Beca, Chloe sees that she's completely aghast. She has to admit, the stunned expression on her face is endearing, even if she absolutely hates the reason it's there.

"So, ask your friend to leave, and we can go somewhere a little… quieter," Kommissar's innuendo is far from subtle, and Chloe feels a shiver run down Beca's spine from where her hand is still placed on her back.

Something hot and unpleasant trickles into Chloe's stomach at the thought that Beca's even considering the offer; she's drunk and can't make these choices. And who knows where all of Kommissar has been. And she's _her_ Beca, damn it.

Chloe opens her mouth furiously to tell Kommissar to shove her offer up her own ass and leave, when Beca manages to squeak out uncertainly, "Umm… I'm actually dating… that guy over there."

She gestures vaguely to the far side of the party, where Chloe can just barely spot Jesse's head turning all directions, likely looking for Beca. It's the only time she can ever recall being happy to see him.

For the first time, Kommissar's confident mask slips and surprise flashes over her face as she glances, not in the direction Beca's pointing, but at Chloe.

However, she recovers quickly, her expression becoming calculating. Chloe does not like that look at all. Beca's gesture toward Jesse had pulled her away from Chloe so she's no longer touching her back.

In their brief moment of separation, Chloe watches, as if in slow motion, as Kommissar's eyes drop to linger on Beca's lips.

"Well," she breathes out huskily, "maybe this will convince you otherwise."

She extends a hand, reaching for Beca's cheek as she leans in. Beca, drunk and dazed, reacts automatically, copying the movement and leaning in as well.

Something inside Chloe finally snaps.

"Hey!" she cries, swatting away Kommissar's hand and throwing herself between them so that Beca is half hidden behind her.

"That is not okay! She just said she's seeing someone! She's drunk and you know it!" Kommissar blinks as Chloe continues to tear into her. "How dare you keep talking to her like that? You've been flirting with her for months and I'm sick of it. Stay away from my Beca, you pretzel hag!"

A ringing silence follows Chloe's outburst. She's breathing hard as if she'd just finished a Bellas workout. Kommissar is staring at her, for once rendered speechless. And Beca is openly gaping at Chloe as if she'd grown an arm out of her forehead.

"Um. Did you just say… ' _my_ Beca'?" comes Beca's timid voice after several beats of silence.

"What? No, I…" Chloe trails off as she frantically casts her mind back. Had she said that? She'd been so angry at the almost-kiss that she'd kind of blacked out there. Oh. Wait. Oh shit. She had said that.

"Oh! Ah. Bec, I'm so sorry, I –" she's completely floundering, her arms waving aimlessly and her face warming.

Beca is still staring at her dumbfoundedly. Kommissar looks strangely satisfied.

Then – "Yeah, I'm hers!" Beca spins on the spot to point directly at Kommissar. "You stay away from my Chloe, too, you… stunning… model!"

The earth shifts under Chloe as she takes in Beca's words. Her chest fills with emotion as she gazes at her, loving how Beca had claimed her as clearly as she'd claimed Beca. She wants to lunge forward, throw her arms around Beca, and kiss her squarely on the lips. In that moment, she forgets that Jesse exists. She forgets that Beca's drunk. And she forgets that Kommissar is standing right there.

That is, until the German speaks, her voice filled with amusement. "Oh, _both_ of you are very feisty! I see. Perhaps I will find your tall, flirty teammate?"

Realizing she means Stacie, Chloe cranes her neck to see if she can spot their leggy friend; hopefully, she and Beca can get to her first to warn her. However, all three of them see Stacie at the same time, standing slightly on the outskirts of the party area, speaking closely with Aubrey.

"Hmm," Kommissar narrows her eyes at the distant pair, "Apparently not."

"I guess no one's interested," Chloe says with some edge in her voice, stepping on Beca's foot to prevent her from shouting out whatever weird thing had shot into her mind that time.

"That's okay," Kommissar shrugs, looking supremely unconcerned. "More time for drinks. Auf Wiedersehen, Feisty Mouse and… Jelly Tiger." With that, she turns to head back into the throng of intoxicated party-goers.

Chloe blinks at her retreating back, baffled at what she assumes is Kommissar's new nickname for her. She's broken from her thoughts by Beca's hand on her arm.

"Chlo…" Beca's suddenly very sober and is looking awkwardly at the ground. Chloe wonders if she's regretting their show of possession.

"Yeah?" she prompts.

"Um… It's just… I should tell you. Something. It's important."

Beca's speech is choppy and her fingers tap a rhythm on her thigh; Chloe frowns, concerned.

"Okay? I'm listening."

Beca takes a deep breath, looks at the sky, and then back down at the ground between them. A few moments pass, and Chloe wonders if Beca's going to say anything after all.

"So. I know you're, like, pan, or whatever. Um. Pansexual," Beca starts. Chloe nods supportively, not at all offended by Beca's phrasing; it's just how Beca speaks when she's nervous. She thinks she knows where this is going.

"Well… um. I think – you know, 'cuz of Kommissar, and yeah – I think I might be… bi. Or whatever."

Even though she was half-expecting it, Chloe's stomach flutters with surprised happiness. She's so wrapped up in her own excitement and what this might mean for them – again, she's forgetting Jesse – that it doesn't immediately occur to her that Beca is probably expecting her to say something back until Beca's suddenly reeling and closing down.

"Dude, is that, like, okay? I know it's weird, and it's new, and you know what? Forget it, let's not tell anyone, just –"

"Beca," Chloe interrupts sharply, reaching to grab Beca's hands in both her own. "Of course it's okay. It's awesome!" Beca's eyes widen in alarm at the enthusiasm, and Chloe backtracks quickly.

"I mean, I'm happy that you're discovering yourself. It's great that you're learning stuff like that. Thank you for telling me."

Beca's smiling at her now, just a small smile that speaks volumes.

"And you know what?" Chloe continues. "We don't have to tell anyone else yet, not until you're ready. It doesn't change anything, though, okay? You're still you, but now you're even more you."

Beca nods and her expression opens, sending warmth into Chloe. She hasn't pulled her hands away yet. In the middle of the crowded party, they are the only two in existence.

"It doesn't change how you see me?" she asks in a small voice.

"No," Chloe shakes her head, "Nothing could change how I feel about you. I promise."

Beca's expression flickers at that, shifting to something that Chloe can't read for a moment. Almost instantly, though, Beca's smile is back.

"Thanks, Chlo," she grins crookedly.

Chloe draws her into a firm hug, squeezing her own eyes shut. Beca clings to her just as tightly and they stand like that for several seconds. Chloe's not sure if it's the emotion of the moment, the adrenaline of the Worlds win, or simply the stress and finality of their senior year that spurs Beca to display affection like this in public, but she's definitely not going to complain.

"Becaw!"

Chloe's eyes pop open. Of course. She sighs as Beca pulls away from her to face her boyfriend.

He immediately swoops in for a hug of his own, which Beca returns with a loud laugh, enveloped in the American flag Jesse still has draped over his shoulders.

"Congratulations!" Jesse enthuses loudly. "We are the kings of the world!" he yells over the crowd, spreading his arms and proudly displaying the flag.

Beca laughs again, rolling her eyes, and Chloe can clearly see her affection for Jesse's boyish antics.

"You're a dork," she teases, calling out, "I don't know him!"

He smiles back, saying sweetly, "Yeah, but I'm your dork, just like you're my grumpy midget."

Chloe isn't prepared for the rush of disgust that comes from first hearing him say that and then watching him lean in to kiss Beca.

She has to look away, jaw clenched with anger. Where was Jesse while his girlfriend was being seduced by a tall German? What right did he have to call her _his_?

Wait. Oh yeah. They're dating.

Because Chloe's looking away, stewing in jealousy, she completely misses the awkward, uncomfortable, and unexpectedly guilty glance Beca throws her way as soon as the kiss breaks.

Chloe only looks back when she hears Beca's disbelieving voice, "You did not just call me a midget!"

"I definitely did, but in a cute way," comes Jesse's response.

Chloe can't take any more.

She clears her throat, getting Beca's attention immediately. Jesse finally looks at her for the first time since he arrived, throwing her a small smile and a wave. She forces a smile back, sure it makes her look like some sort of constipated sociopath.

"I'm gonna grab another drink. I'll see you guys around?" she says.

Beca's happy expression falls a little at that, but Jesse's already nodding.

"Have fun, Chloe," he says, then immediately turns to Beca, reaching for her arm. "You wanna dance?"

"Uh, sure," Beca says, still looking at Chloe, before waving and smiling at her. "Make good choices!"

Despite her annoyance, Chloe's mouth quirks upward at the throwback to Beca's initiation night. Beca grins at her playfully even as she allows Jesse to lead her away to the dancing area.

Unwilling to watch them walk away, Chloe turns and heads over to the drink table, hoping there's something strong left. She settles for a rum and coke, then turns to find a rock to sit on.

She's scanning for an open spot when a waving arm catches her attention. To her surprise, Kommissar is sitting alone nearby and is gesturing for her to join her. Chloe looks around; none of the Bellas are watching. After a brief hesitation, Chloe impulsively decides to go sit next to her. Maybe Kommissar's planning on propositioning her now.

"I don't bite," Kommissar says, beer in hand, as Chloe perches next to her on the rock. "Not unless you ask me to."

Chloe's cheeks warm slightly at the suggestion and she sips her drink to hide her face. She suddenly can't blame Beca for turning into a total mess; it's an intimidating experience to be on the receiving end of Kommissar's flirtations.

"Why do you say things like that to people?" she blurts out before she can stop herself.

"Like what?"

Chloe rolls her eyes, a habit she's picked up from Beca. "You know what."

Kommissar smirks and examines Chloe appraisingly. This time, Chloe forces herself to stare back confidently.

"It scares people," Kommissar finally responds, "and I like seeing them squirm." She leans in to whisper conspiratorially, "But I promise, Jelly, that I always mean every word."

Kommissar lets that sink in and takes a large swig of her beer. She wrinkles her nose at the taste, muttering, "Damn Danish. They even mess up beer."

Chloe looks down at her rum and coke, swirling it slightly in her hands, her stomach uneasy.

"So…" she says to her drink, her throat tight, "you meant to flirt with Beca. You meant what you said."

"Yes, Feisty Mouse was most amusing," Kommissar purrs. "And very pretty," she adds. "We would have had fun together."

Chloe swallows, hard. Her hands are becoming clammy around her drink and she knows it's not from the condensation on the glass.

"It would have been easy for you, you know." Chloe's surprised at herself; she hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Kommissar glances at her, raising an eyebrow questioningly, so she elaborates, eyes still fixed on her drink.

"She liked you, too," she whispers.

Kommissar chuckles at that, though not harshly, merely amused.

"Yes," she agrees, "I could tell."

Chloe takes a deep breath through her nose. Talking about Beca like this makes her chest ache.

"But," adds Kommissar, "it would not have been as easy as you believe. She's very loyal to the Bellas, and to you. And, for some reason, to her… boyfriend."

Chloe looks up to seek out Beca and Jesse in the crowd of dancers. She feels Kommissar's eyes on her, so she continues to watch them rather than face her. Jesse twirls Beca, who's laughing harder than Chloe has seen her laugh for a long time, her cheeks flushed.

Kommissar follows Chloe's gaze, taking in the sight of Beca and Jesse together.

"Don't worry. That won't last."

Chloe's entire upper body twists to stare at Kommissar, unsure she'd heard her correctly.

"What?"

Kommissar gives her a genuine smile as she continues, "She only has eyes for you. Trust me. And even a blind rhinoceros could see how you look at her."

"S-seriously?" Chloe manages to choke out. A blind rhinoceros?

Kommissar nods as she says, "I thought you two were together, until she mentioned the boy today. She really is very taken with you."

There's silence between them as Chloe blinks stupidly at Kommissar.

She dimly registers that Aubrey and Stacie have spotted her next to Kommissar and are not-so-secretly watching them. Amy's overly loud voice rings over the party as she yells, "Move, you bitches! I'm gonna crowd surf!"

Ignoring the surrounding chaos, Chloe finds her voice enough to squeak, "How? Why…?"

Kommissar stops her with a casual wave of a hand.

"I only guessed after our first meeting, but then I thought I knew for sure at the strange man's basement party. You looked so angry with me while I danced for her, it was amusing," she laughs gently before adding, "And the way you two were just dancing… well. Can you blame me?"

Chloe wrinkled her nose, embarrassed. "You saw that, huh?"

Kommissar's smile only widens.

Chloe is torn; she wants to be annoyed but can't help the fuzzy feeling washing over her at the realization that even a complete stranger can see the connection she and Beca share. Knowing that Kommissar thought they'd been, well, _a_ _couple_ , this whole time is pretty amazing.

Then, she frowns.

"Wait, so you thought we were dating, but you still flirted with her like that in front of me?"

With a shrug, Kommissar replies, "Like I said, it's fun. And I was interested."

Chloe's jaw dropped. "What?! That's… that's… why didn't you flirt with me, then?"

Kommissar laughs fully, the first real laugh Chloe has heard from her.

"Oh, you really are fun, Jelly Tiger! You are very pretty, too, but I prefer brunettes."

"Okay, you know what –"

Again, Kommissar speaks over her, standing from the rock to leave. "This has been very entertaining, but I'm going to join my group. And, I imagine, you don't want any Bellas getting the wrong idea about us, yes?"

Chloe nods; they have been talking for too long to appear innocuous, and Aubrey and Stacie have been watching for a while.

Kommissar turns to walk away, only to stop and look back at Chloe for a moment.

"Congratulations, by the way," she says. "I knew you'd won the second all the old Bellas joined you. The judges in this country are like the beer here – weak and watery. Until next time, Jelly."

With that, she leaves Chloe on the rock, the ice melted in her rum and coke.

She barely has time to process what had happened – did Kommissar really say that Beca likes her, too? – before Aubrey and Stacie are swooping down on her.

"What did she want?" Aubrey asks sharply, skipping preamble.

"Ooh, did she ask you to sleep with her?" Stacie bobs her head eagerly, earning an elbow in the side from Aubrey.

"No…" says Chloe, not really focusing on them, "she wanted to congratulate me on the win."

"That's all?" Aubrey raises her eyebrows skeptically. "Long conversation."

"Long legs," Stacie notes unhelpfully.

She and Aubrey start to bicker and Chloe tunes them out, thinking instead about a possible future with Beca. Now that Beca's figured out her sexuality… and even Kommissar said she and Jesse won't last… but still.

Beca is dating Jesse for now. Beca has never explicitly said that she likes Chloe. Beca is her best friend. She can't ruin that by constantly thinking like this. And, now that they've all graduated, they're all moving in different directions. Well, unless she has a say in future living arrangements, that is.

So, Chloe does what she's had years of practice with and shoves her feelings for Beca back into their secret drawer for the foreseeable future. She'll wait for as long as it takes.

Chloe would wait for Beca forever.

As she sits on the rock, sipping what little is left of her watered-down drink, ignoring Aubrey and Stacie completely, Chloe allows herself to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Kommissar really is beautiful.


	4. Just a Joke?

**The next part of this series, taking place about two weeks after Worlds and the events of "Jealousy's a Bitch...or Maybe it's Just the German."**

 **When Jesse says something serious to Beca, meaning it as a joke, she freaks out and goes to the one person she can open up to: Chloe.**

* * *

 **Just a Joke?**

"Beca! Beca, come back!" Jesse's voice rang out after her as she bolted to the kitchen counter to grab her purse, her hair flying behind her.

She forced her feet into her shoes roughly, jamming the heel down, not wanting to waste time putting them on properly. She could hear Jesse scrambling after her, knocking into a chair with a curse.

"Beca!" he called again. "It was a joke, baby! I swear."

She snorted derisively as she flung open his front door and threw herself down the front steps. Once she made it down to the sidewalk, she paused only long enough to spin around and yell at him as he reached the doorframe, "It didn't feel like a joke! I'm leaving!"

She turned and started running, actually running, down the sidewalk to put as much distance between herself and the Treble house as possible.

"Where are you going?!"

She looked over her shoulder and saw that he'd made it down to the sidewalk and had started to follow her.

She screamed back, her voice cracking with anger, "TO CHLOE!"

He stopped dead, staring after her with a pained expression.

It took Beca only seconds to scramble into the Bella house's yard. She wrenched the door open, barely noticing that someone had forgotten to lock the front door again, launched herself inside, and slammed it behind her, locking the deadbolt. Panting, she peered through the peephole. Nothing. He hadn't followed.

Only waiting long enough to take a huge breath – she really needed to work on that cardio – Beca lunged for the stairs, taking them two at a time, her mind churning and heart pounding. She was moving so quickly that she almost ran headlong into Flo on the landing.

"Woah, Beca? What - ?"

Without letting her finish her question, Beca moved past her at breakneck speed, hurtling directly into Chloe's room without even knocking.

Chloe, who had been laying on her bed reading, jolted at Beca's sudden appearance and shouted "Jesus!" as her book was sent flying.

She took in Beca's messy hair, flushed cheeks, rapid breathing, and her halfway put on shoes. Frowning, she asked, "Bec? You okay?"

Beca shook her head, still trying to catch her breath. She turned and closed the door behind her, feeling Chloe's eyes on her back.

"Come here," Chloe said softly, patting a spot on the bed beside her.

Beca moved over to the bed and perched herself on the edge, not wanting to put her shoes on the covers. Her breathing finally slowed as she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, mummering, "Sorry to burst in. But I needed to see you."

Chloe hesitantly reached out a hand, placing it on Beca's back. When Beca didn't flinch away, she started to rub up and down her spine soothingly.

"Hey," she said softly, not wanting to startle Beca, "what's wrong? What happened?"

Taking a deep, shuddering breath to steel herself, Beca sighed out, "Jesse. He just… he made me so mad. I had to get away."

Chloe's hand froze for an instant in its path down Beca's back, then resumed its course. "Do you want to talk about it with me?"

Tearing her eyes away from the ceiling, Beca looked over her shoulder at Chloe's encouraging smile. The tension between her shoulders disappeared as soon as she saw cerulean blue gazing back at her, and the crease between her eyebrows smoothed. She bent over to tug off her shoes and swung her legs up on the bed, scooting over to recline against the headboard next to Chloe.

"Yeah," she replied, "I do actually. If that's okay," she looked anxiously at Chloe.

Nodding, Chloe said, "Of course it's okay, silly. That's kinda why I offered."

"Shut up, weirdo," Beca nudged Chloe teasingly, a small smile cracking her previously stormy exterior.

Chloe laughed, responding playfully, "Badass Beca Mitchell is about to open up and tell me her troubles. Mark this on the calendar."

Beca rolled her eyes with a huff. "Do you want to know or not? I could just leave, you know!"

"Okay, okay," Chloe said, raising her hands in truce. "What happened with Jesse?"

Beca's face fell and she looked down at Chloe's duvet. After a moment, she muttered, "He _still_ doesn't understand why I'm going to New York with you guys and not to LA with him."

"Mmm," hummed Chloe to show she was listening.

"I told him a week ago this was the plan! I don't get why he's still going on about it, I mean, it's not like I'm going to change my mind," Beca continued. "Sure, did I used to want to go to LA? Yeah, but I'm allowed to do something else! Our lease is up at the end of the week and sue me if I wanted to go where I had a set job. Why doesn't he get that?"

She was staring at Chloe now, who'd been letting her vent in silence.

"Well," Chloe began carefully, "I think he had counted on you staying with him for the long-haul, Bec. He's probably disappointed and is going to miss you."

Beca frowned. "It's not like we're not going to be together, like _together_ together. We didn't break up over it."

Chloe's eyebrows rose slightly. "You didn't?" she asked, surprised.

"No…" said Beca slowly, looking just as surprised. "Why would we?"

Chloe looked away, a strange expression flickering across her face before becoming impassive again. "No reason, I guess. I just thought… never mind. Is that what you were upset about?" she added, changing the subject.

Beca cringed, looking down at her hand which began absentmindedly tracing the pattern of Chloe's duvet. "Not that exactly…" she trailed off vaguely.

"Then what?" Chloe nudged.

"He – he said something bad. About why I was going to New York. With you." Her face colored as she continued boring a hole into Chloe's bed with her stare.

Chloe frowned, confused. "What?"

Whispering, Beca replied, "He said – well, implied – that the only reason I was going to New York was to be with you. Because I chose you over him. That I might as well be dating you instead of him."

Stunned, Chloe sat staring at nothing. After a long pause, she found her voice. "He said that?" she croaked out.

Beca nodded, her face positively glowing as she continued to stare down. "That's when I got mad and left. Even though he tried to say it was a joke. It wasn't funny."

"Beca…" said Chloe, at a loss. Beca, who was still looking down, missed the look of hope that crossed her face.

"I mean," started Beca, "why would he even say that? You're my best friend, it's different! He's my boyfriend. I'd never cheat on him, and he knows how close we are. I don't get why he'd say something like that." She finally raised her head to look at Chloe. "You know? It's just a dumb thing to say."

"Yeah," muttered Chloe. "Dumb."

Beca huffed again, leaning back on the headboard and closing her eyes. "That's it, I guess. He pissed me off, and I needed to rant. We'll probably be okay tomorrow."

Chloe nodded mutely, looking at the opposite wall.

"Do you want to watch Netflix or something?" Beca asked, trying to hoist herself out of her bad mood.

Chloe snapped out of her haze. With a "yeah, sure," she reached for her laptop and opened it to pull up the app.

"You can pick what we watch," she said, fighting against the urge to question Beca further. Clearly, she was done talking for now.

As Beca settled in against Chloe's side and started to scroll, she shoved down her unease. She could feel that something was left unresolved, but she knew things would look better after she had time to relax with Chloe.

Somehow, her best friend always made her feel better.


	5. Chloe's Secret

**This is set about 5 months after graduation/Worlds and the events of "Just a Joke," which was the previous chapter,** **and is the next part of this series.**

* * *

 **Chloe's Secret**

It's hotter in Los Angeles. That's the first thing Chloe notices when she steps out of the airport, lugging her suitcase behind her. She squints in the afternoon sunlight, unaccustomed to the time difference that she already knows is going to mess up her strict sleep schedule. She'd just gotten it to where she felt comfortable working the somewhat strange hours at her veterinary internship. Of course, her schedule had nothing on Beca's. Beca usually left first in the morning, and sometimes didn't get back until well after dark. Chloe was in awe; she had no idea how Beca managed it.

Beca. Chloe's confident steps falter for a moment before she continues her search for a taxi. Her chest aches at the thought of her best friend. What would Beca say if she knew where Chloe was? Beca, who had spent the last three days rotating between tears, apathy, relief, and confusion. Chloe swallows hard as she dodges around people to find a good vantage point on the curb from which to hail a taxi. She'd never seen Beca like that and it had scared her. Beca was the reason she was in LA now.

Chloe's shoulder is becoming tired from the strain of dragging her suitcase behind her. Honestly, she isn't even sure why she'd bothered packing a whole suitcase; she really wasn't planning on staying in the city for more than two nights. She supposed she'd had to put up a front for Beca and Amy. She feels horrible for leaving Beca and for lying to her and Amy, but she'd had no other choice.

She'd already been planning to fly to visit her parents in Florida, so it had been easy to switch her plane ticket. Her parents had been upset at first, but when she had explained the situation, they'd understood. Chloe had considered staying with Beca, who clearly needed support, but she knew Beca would be taken care of by Amy's promise of "a weekend big enough to drown any and all sorrows in copious amounts of alcohol." Even with the knowledge, Chloe had barely been able to stomach lying to her roommates. Beca and Amy still thought she was in Florida visiting her parents. They had no idea she was in LA to see the person who'd destroyed her best friend: Jesse.

Chloe knows what she's doing is borderline insane. But it's something she needs to do. She'd watched her best friend fall apart in front of her and she'd never felt so helpless in her life. She needs to know why Beca is being put through this by one of the few people she'd trusted completely. Chloe fully intends to break down Jesse's door and demand to know why he hurt Beca.

 _Beca_. A trickle of unease runs through Chloe even as she flings her arm into the air in a hurried attempt to signal a taxi. Maybe she _should_ have stayed in New York; Beca needed her. She'd looked at Chloe with such huge, sorrowful eyes when they had hugged goodbye for the weekend.

As Chloe finally catches the eye of a cab driver, the reality of what she's doing sinks in. God, this is crazy. She'd just up and gone to LA in yet another act of impulsivity. Where will she stay? Her return flight isn't until late Sunday, and today is Friday. Should she sight-see while she's here? What if something happens to her and no one ever knew where she went because she lied and she becomes one of those girls on the posters and –

Her spiraling thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of the taxi. The driver starts to get out to help her haul her suitcase into the trunk, but she waves him off and sets it in herself. She closes the trunk and swings herself into the back of the cab, noting that the driver's name is Archie.

"Where to, miss?" Archie asks.

Chloe gives Archie Jesse's address, which she'd stolen from the box of Beca's things he had shipped to them the other day. That had been a low blow.

Archie nods and the taxi leaves the curb. Chloe closes her eyes and lets her head rest back on the seat. It occurs to her that Jesse might not even be at his apartment when she gets there. What if he's shopping? Or worse, what if he's entertaining a new girlfriend at his place? Chloe had wondered if he'd been cheating on Beca, but Beca had denied it. Of course, Jesse could have lied about it.

Chloe's eyebrows pull together; maybe this is a mistake. Is what happened between Beca and Jesse really any of her business? What would Beca say if she saw Chloe right now? Chloe sighs – she knows Beca would probably be furious with her and would tell her to go home. And yet… Beca had been really hurting. Isn't it Chloe's job, as Beca's best friend, to protect her from pain? Chloe can't just stand by after what she'd watched Beca go through since the breakup.

* * *

The breakup had happened on Tuesday. Beca was scheduled for only a half-day at work and had been looking forward to the rare time off. Chloe had been excited about it, too, having taken the day off from her own internship. She'd planned a short drive and a picnic to get out of the city for a few hours for a late lunch. It was so rare that Beca got time off from her job and Chloe was planning on taking full advantage. She'd been squealing about it for days. Beca pretended to be annoyed by it, but Chloe knew that she was just as excited to spend time with her; they both wanted the day to be perfect.

So, Chloe got an unpleasant sense of foreboding when Beca had stormed into their apartment after her morning at work, clearly upset and on the phone with Jesse. Phone fights weren't new for them; their relationship had felt strained for some time, but Chloe could already tell that this one was different.

She stood at the small kitchen table, packing their sandwiches for the day into a little picnic basket she'd bought specifically for the occasion when Beca arrived, flinging open the door carelessly and pressing her phone harshly into her ear. Chloe had beamed with delight, only to have the smile slide off her face at the sight of Beca's deep frown as she pulled a hand through her hair roughly.

"Jesse, that's not fair! I had to come to New York," Beca hissed harshly into the phone as she hurled her bag onto their shared bed. Chloe paused in packing the basket, concerned. Jesse had never understood why Beca hadn't gone with him to LA after graduation five months ago.

"Because I wanted to!" Beca responded to Jesse's question as she flung her free hand into the air in frustration. She grimaced at Chloe, looking frazzled.

There was a slightly longer pause before brunette continued, "I know what I said, but I changed my mind! Why don't you understand that?"

Chloe mirrored Beca's frown at hearing that. She knew Jesse was disappointed that Beca didn't go with him, but it seemed pointless to keep fighting about it months later. Hating the harshness of Beca's expression, Chloe gently waved a sandwich at Beca in an attempt to cheer her up with impending food. However, Beca stared at the wall behind Chloe, eyes unfocused, as she listened to Jesse on the line. Chloe bit her lip – Beca never ignored food.

Beca's eyes suddenly widened and she gasped at whatever Jesse had said on the phone. Navy blue eyes flicked to Chloe's face for an instant, then away again immediately. Beca sharply turned her back on Chloe to instead look out the window above their bed, with an incredulous, "What? What does – does that have to do with anything?" Chloe could hear Jesse's muffled voice on the phone but couldn't make out his words. Whatever he'd said had pissed Beca off.

Chloe suddenly felt like she was intruding, but there was nowhere to hide in the miniscule apartment. She settled for sitting down at the table to make herself smaller. The sandwiches sat, forgotten and forlorn, on the table next to her.

"I can't! My job, my life, my frie – my everything is here!" Beca practically shouted into the phone.

Chloe cringed at both the volume and the content of the statement; Beca hadn't included Jesse in her 'everything' and it had been painfully obvious.

Beca must have realized the same thing as she tried to backtrack in a softer tone. "Look… I didn't – " she cut off abruptly, standing completely still as she gazed out the window, her back to Chloe.

This pause stretched into infinity. Beca didn't make a sound. Chloe's stomach somersaulted and she held her breath as she waited for Beca to say something. Anything. Anything except –

"Jesse, what are you saying?" Not that. Shit. It sounded like Jesse was going to –

Beca's voice, all steel and ice, sliced through the room. "Okay. Fine. That's it, then. Bye."

Beca pulled the phone away from her ear slowly to let her arm dangle at her side. The air in the apartment was still and silent; Chloe wasn't sure either of them was breathing.

After what felt like an hour, Beca pivoted robotically to look at her. White-hot pain shot through Chloe like a blow to the stomach at the sight of her best friend. Beca's eyes were empty, her face stony and impossible to read. It was as though the last four years hadn't happened; freshman Beca stood in their apartment, her walls back in place as completely and firmly as they had been when Chloe had first seen her in the quad. Her face lacked its usual warmth and familiarity. This was a stranger in Beca's skin, and Chloe was completely terrified of her.

Instinctively, Chloe rose from the table and moved toward Beca. Beca flinched back and Chloe stopped dead, her heart dropping to her stomach, hands up in the universal 'I won't hurt you' gesture. Beca hadn't flinched away from her in years. Still, the brunette's face was empty, withdrawn, and reserved, reverted to before they all became friends. Chloe stood, frozen in numb anticipation. She half-expected Beca to turn and head out the door, shutting her out completely. It's what freshman Beca would have done.

Choking down her horror, Chloe whispered, "Bec. Hey, don't…" she trailed off as the stranger's familiar eyes found her own.

The silence between them deafened Chloe, and she was starting to wonder if Beca could even see her.

Except – "He broke up with me." Beca said it simply, as if she was remarking on the weather. Chloe held her breath, unsure, scared that she'd just lost the most important person in her life. A beat. Then, Beca's face crumpled at the same time her knees gave out and Chloe lunged forward to catch her before she could hit the floor. They ended up in an awkward kneel, Chloe grasping Beca's elbows.

"Woah, hey, easy," Chloe said earnestly.

Beca raised her head to look at Chloe, and Chloe's heart ached at the pain she saw in Beca's eyes.

"Chlo…" Beca whispered, and Chloe watched as Beca completely broke, her eyebrows drawing together, her eyes filling with tears, and her mouth pulling down hard. Chloe immediately drew Beca into her, wrapping her arms securely around the smaller woman as they sank completely to the floor.

"Let it out," Chloe encouraged, rubbing Beca's back. She felt Beca's muscles strain as she tried to hold herself together. Chloe repeated herself over and over until she finally felt the first sob escape into her shoulder. It was the crack in the dam; Beca clung to her, face pressed into her shoulder, as she finally released her emotions in a torrent of tears and full-body sobs. Chloe just held tighter and closed her eyes. Selfishly, she was relieved; _her_ Beca was still there. She despised herself for feeling relief in that moment, but she'd been terrified by Beca's temporary reversion. But eventually, those awful walls had come down for her once again.

They sat like that on the floor for hours while Chloe held Beca tightly, rubbing her back and letting the younger girl get everything she needed to out. The half-packed picnic basket sat discarded on the table. Chloe's teeth clenched in anger every time she saw it; how dare Jesse ruin this for them?

As it neared time for Amy to come home, Chloe saw that Beca was watching the clock. Just before Amy was due back, Beca mumbled thickly, "Okay. I'm sorry. Let's get up now."

Chloe nodded, knowing Beca didn't want anyone else to see her like this. She stood, then pulled Beca to her feet, where she swayed alarmingly at first but then caught herself.

"Blood rush…" the brunette mumbled, looking at the floor.

Chloe watched her in concern for a moment before saying softly, "It's okay, Beca. You don't have to be embarrassed or apologize. He was important."

Beca flinched, doing an excellent imitation of a deer in headlights. "Yeah, well. He was my first friend at Barden," she muttered.

Blinking dumbly at Beca, Chloe wanted to punch herself in the face. She'd somehow forgotten that detail over the past four years, sure that Beca had always been her friend first.

Jingling keys and scuffling noises interrupted the pair, and Beca spun to the bathroom to wash her face while Chloe hurried to the kitchen table to pull out the sandwiches that had been intended for lunch.

"What's up, aca-bitches?!" called Amy excitedly as she burst through the door. "Guess who came up with the best idea for a business venture?! Picture it: Fat Amy, the most talented actress in Tasmania with teeth, a street performer! It's brilliant! It's perfect! It's – Ginger Spice, what's got your goat?"

Chloe shook herself from her stupor with a "What?"

"You're less obnoxiously sunny than usual," Amy mused.

Panicking slightly, Chloe spit out, "Oh – uh, well, dinner is just a little late, and, uh – "

"Jesse and I broke up."

Chloe spun – she hadn't heard Beca finish in the bathroom. She looked better, having quickly reapplied some of her makeup and brushed her hair. However, her eyes were sill red and puffy looking, and Chloe could tell that she was straining to hold herself in.

Beca continued in a rush, "Yeah, so, that happened. And it's fine, the distance was annoying, and he didn't really get why I came here, and so it's fine, okay, so let's maybe not talk about it?"

Throughout Beca's rambling, Chloe noticed that Amy's eyes were on her rather than on Beca for some reason. Yet, when she tried to catch her gaze, Amy looked back at Beca instead with an uncharacteristically quiet, "Ah, Shawshank… that's so crappy. But you know what?" she added, louder.

Beca quirked an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

"He was kind of annoying anyway. Bit like a dumb, clingy puppy, you know?" continued Amy.

Shocked, Chloe exclaimed, "Amy!"

Beca shook her head and replied, "Nah, it's okay. You're right, it's fine."

With that, Chloe had watched with amusement as Amy suddenly lunged toward Beca to give her something called "butt confidence" to "move on" while Beca ran for cover, screaming loudly.

The picnic sandwiches made a decent dinner, and The Jesse Topic didn't come up again all evening. Beca was quieter than normal, and Chloe thought that Amy kept looking at her, but every time Chloe tried to make eye contact Amy would look away. Amy was also on her phone more than usual and kept getting messages from people; Chloe could hear her phone buzzing. When asked, she said it was "All of my boyfriends. I have to let them all down now that Bumper and I are engaged."

The evening passed quickly. Chloe could tell that Beca was still upset, but she was doing an excellent job of hiding it from their blonde roommate. At times, though, Beca retreated into herself as if in a daydream of some sort, but whenever that happened, Chloe would cough or move or say something to bring Beca back into the present. Each time, she was met with a grateful little smile.

However, it seemed that Amy was not as oblivious as she'd thought. As she was brushing her teeth before bed, Chloe heard Amy say to Beca, "I'm sorry about Jesse, Short Stack. But maybe this is an opportunity in disguise you know?"

Chloe missed Beca's hushed response, and by the time she was back out of the bathroom, Amy had gone to bed with the clothes rack "barrier" between her bed and the fold-out bed she and Beca shared. Beca, who had already gotten ready for bed, was tucked into a ball under the covers.

With a weary sigh, Chloe reached to flick off the lamp as she climbed into the small bed next to her best friend. As soon as she was settled, Beca moved toward her. Without thinking, Chloe turned on her side facing Beca and pulled the younger girl into her arms. Beca pushed her face into the space between Chloe's neck and her shoulder and Chloe felt a few tears fall onto her night shirt.

After a moment, Beca whispered nearly silently, "Why does everyone leave me?"

Chloe's heart shattered for Beca at the same time it filled with rage at Jesse. He had been Beca's first friend at Barden and had pulled her out of her shell just as much as Chloe and the Bellas had. Jesse had a kind of relationship with Beca that Chloe didn't; it was that simple. He'd meant the world to Beca and now he'd left her, given up on her, like many people had before.

Chloe pulled Beca impossibly closer and tightened her hold; she didn't understand for a second how anyone could do that to Beca. "I'll never leave," Chloe whispered back. "I promise."

Beca's only response was a nearly inaudible whimper as she clung even more tightly to Chloe, threading their legs together. In that instant, Chloe made a decision; she had to know how Jesse could possibly justify hurting Beca. She'd always wanted to track down everyone who'd ever hurt her friend, and now she finally had a chance to do so. Without really considering it, she made the decision to switch her plane tickets immediately in the morning.

Chloe forced herself to say awake until she felt Beca's breaths even out on her shoulder. It was only after the brunette had finally fallen asleep that Chloe first allowed herself to think about what she'd been shoving from her mind since Beca had hung up the phone: Beca was single for the first time in over three years. A long-dormant hope fluttered in Chloe's chest even as she hated herself for considering what this breakup might mean for her. For them. She didn't sleep much that night as she held onto her best friend, guilty visions of what could be flashing behind her closed eyes.

Chloe had watched Beca closely for the following two days. Once the initial shock had worn off, Beca tended to alternate between indifference ("I don't care, we barely even saw each other anymore."), anger ("I can't believe I wasted my time with that asshole."), and a strange calm ("We really weren't a good couple, more friends really."). However, at night, Beca still clung to Chloe like a lifeline. She could tell that Beca was more upset over the loss of an important person in her life than at the loss of a romantic relationship. Jesse's companionship had clearly meant a lot to her.

Amy did her best to comfort Beca, recruiting all the Bellas in the area over text the day after the breakup to plan a weekend drunk-fest to forget about "that stupid puppy asshole." The bouts of butt confidence continued, and Amy constantly encouraged Beca to "get back on the horse and ride someone else for once," much to Beca's supreme displeasure.

Chloe attempted to offer her constant support while simultaneously batting down the flutter of "what if" that had returned for the first time in years. She thought she'd gotten past her feelings for Beca and had forced them out completely when they moved to New York together, but there they were again. Mostly, though, Chloe was trying to hide her fury at Jesse for hurting Beca. Though the waterworks seemed to have stopped, Chloe couldn't get the sound of Beca's whispered vulnerability out of her head. She wanted nothing more than to strangle Jesse until he choked out an explanation for hurting Beca.

When the box of Beca's things had arrived, Beca's resolve had wavered and Chloe saw the pain in her eyes. _I'd never do that to her,_ Chloe found herself thinking even as she discretely took a photo of the return address for reference. Her anger would sometimes threaten to overwhelm her until she'd recall the plane ticket to LA.

Anger didn't quite stave off the guilt, though, when Chloe had to tell Beca why she wasn't going to be at Amy's planned booze-a-thon.

"Sorry Bec, I know the timing is just awful, but I've had plane tickets home for months, and my mom is so excited to see me," she had insisted.

Eyes downcast, Beca had replied, "It's okay, Chlo. You should be with your family. I'll be okay."

"You're my family, too. I'm so sorry it happened like this," responded Chloe, now feeling positively dreadful.

Amy interrupted, "Ahh, don't worry Ginger, I'll take care of this one. You do what you gotta do."

Chloe narrowed her eyes; Amy had winked at her, almost like…but there's no way for her to know where Chloe was going. No possible way.

And so, come Friday morning, Chloe had flown off to LA. She knew it was crazy. But it was something she had to do. Jesse had to answer for hurting her best friend.

* * *

The sudden stop of the cab jerks Chloe back to the present. "We're here," says Archie cheerfully.

With a grateful smile, Chloe hands him his fare and climbs out of the car as he pops the trunk so she can grab her bag. Once she's lifted it out of the back, she shuts the trunk and waves as Archie pulls away from the curb.

Chloe turns slowly on the spot, exhaling as she takes in the front of Jesse's apartment building. God. This is crazy. He might not even be here. Nevertheless, Chloe inhales deeply through her nose (wow, LA smells bad) and moves up the front steps toward the buzzer. He hurt Beca. That's all she really cares about.

Her eyes zero in on the buzzer at his apartment number and with a frantic energy, her hand compresses the bell. At first, nothing. Then more nothing. Disappointment wells in Chloe's chest; he isn't home. She turns to leave without any real destination in mind, stepping down back to street level.

She bites her lip, considering her options as she walks away leisurely, headed around the corner of the building. There has to be a park somewhere she could sit and try again in a few hours. Or a theater – she could go catch a movie and come back after. Or maybe a restaurant –

 _Wham!_ As she rounds the corner, collides with someone rather larger than her with an "Oof!" of surprise. She wobbles until hands grab her arms, holding her upright. Once she catches her balance, she looks up to see who she'd run into and is met with big brown eyes filled with shock.

"Chloe?" asks Jesse incredulously.

Chloe doesn't respond. Once she realizes exactly who is in front of her, she's consumed with anger. Her mind flies back to a shared bed and a broken whisper of abandonment, and the next thing she knows, Jesse is reeling away from her, shouting out in surprise. The flat of her hand stung where it had struck his face.

Horrified at herself, Chloe automatically squeaks out, "Oh! I'm sorry!" before she remembers the temporary reappearance of freshman Beca and that the reason for it is standing in front of her.

"What the hell?!" exclaims Jesse, once recovered enough to glare at her.

"You left her!" Chloe yells right back, her hands now balled into fists at her side. "Do you have any idea how much you hurt her, you asshole?"

Jesse opens his mouth furiously to reply before he stops himself and closes it slowly. The anger in his eyes fades and Chloe watches as he slumps into himself, looking suddenly sad and pathetic. He breaks eye contact with her and shuffles his feet.

"Well?" Chloe demands when it becomes clear Jesse isn't going to say anything.

Jesse glances up at her again, his left cheek aflame from her slap. She feels bad about it; she hadn't meant to hit him, it had just happened.

"Chloe, can we take this inside?" Jesse eventually asks softly. "Before the neighbors call the cops for domestic abuse?"

Chloe deflates slightly at his quiet tone. He can't look her in the eyes. For the first time, she notices that he's carrying a case of beer and his clothes look rumpled.

Catching where her gaze had landed, Jesse mutters, "I just got back from shopping. Did you wait long?"

With a shake of her head, Chloe responds, "I just got here. Let's go in."

They make their way to his apartment building without speaking. Jesse holds the door for her, allowing her to enter first. He gestures to a rickety elevator just inside the entrance and she enters first. The doors slide closed behind them and he presses the button for the sixth floor. The ride up passes in awkward silence with only the rattling of the elevator filling the quiet. Her hand still stings, but the pain is fading rapidly.

Chloe watches Jesse from the corner of her eye. He has dark circles under his eyes as if he doesn't sleep well and he looks somehow smaller than he used to. His typical boyish grin is missing, and without it he looks older and too serious.

With a little 'ding,' the elevator arrives at his floor. Again, he lets her go first, calling out his apartment number so she knows where to go. At his door, he digs in his pocket for keys with a free hand while he balances the beer in the other. Finally extracting his keys, Jesse unlocks the door and politely stands aside so she can enter his apartment.

It's messy. Beer bottles are spread everywhere, and pizza boxes are piled precariously near an overflowing trash can. There is a general stuffy atmosphere to the apartment as if Jesse hasn't opened a window in days. _So_ , thinks Chloe, _no secret girlfriend_.

"Sorry it's kinda…yeah. I wasn't expecting anyone," Jesse apologizes as he shuts the door behind them and moves to set the case of beer on an already cluttered counter.

Finding her voice, Chloe says wryly, "It's okay. I didn't exactly call ahead."

Jesse smiles awkwardly as they stared at each other, but it doesn't meet his eyes. Chloe feels strange; she and Jesse had never been close, even though they had one very significant person in common. She'd never liked to spend time with him because it had hurt too much, and he'd never gone out of his way to spend time with her.

"Sorry about your cheek," Chloe blurts out, suddenly needing to break the quiet.

Jesse's gaze drops to the floor. "I probably deserved it. How's your hand?" he asks.

"It's fine," she replies slowly, her eyebrows raised in slight confusion. "What do you mean you 'deserved it?'"

He sighs and, indicating his futon, avoids her question with one of his own. "Would you like to sit down?"

When Chloe hesitates, taking in the chip bags and beer bottles strewn across it, he moves to pick them up and dusts one end of the futon clean. Then, moving to a nearby closet, he takes a folded blanket out and sets in on the cushion for her to sit on. "There," he says, "all clean."

Chloe moves to sit on the cleaned area. He really hadn't needed to put the blanket down, but she appreciates the thought behind it. Jesse cleans off the other futon cushion and sits down next to her while still maintaining a safe distance. Silence fills the air again.

Unable to take it any longer, Chloe bursts out, "Why did you do that to her?"

Jesse's face tightens, and he glances away before answering hesitantly. "The long distance didn't work for us. There was something missing, and I figured we'd be better as friends."

Unable to stop herself, Chloe snorts in disbelief at what she deems a poor answer.

Suddenly, the mood shifts. "Why are you here?" Jesse asks blatantly, looking at her intently.

Chloe bristles immediately at his sharp tone. "You know why I'm here," she snaps. "And that answer was bullshit. Why did you break up with her like that?"

Jesse glares at her in irritation. "What, over the phone? What was I supposed to do, fly out there and do it in person? Would that be better?" he asks sarcastically.

"Oh my God, you're so…" Chloe trails off in frustration.

"I'm so _what_?" scoffs Jesse.

Chloe loses it completely, her fury peaking at his dismissive attitude – doesn't he understand what he did to Beca? "You're such an asshole! Why did you just end it like that? She deserved better and you know it! As much as I don't care about you, you're _so_ important to her!" Chloe sees the surprise in Jesse's eyes and she knows she should stop yelling, but the words keep pouring out of her.

"You _know_ how it is with her and people leaving! You were with her for so long and now you went and just – just – do you have any idea how much pain she's in? What she's been like the last few days? She practically shut down! And it's all your fault! How could you? How _dare_ you do that to her?" Chloe finishes, breathing hard.

"What the hell was I supposed to do, Chloe?" Jesse fights back desperately. "Just stay with her forever? Just go along, pretending we were okay? Huh? Just make us both miserable so long as I don't leave her? Well?"

Chloe, offended by his attitude, fires back, "Well, no, but you could have at least had the balls to try and fight for her! To fix things!"

"I TRIED!" Jesse bellows, startling Chloe into silence. "I tried for so long! Even months before graduation, I was trying! But that's the thing – I was the only one trying!"

"That's not – " Chloe tries to interject before Jesse cuts her off.

"Yes, it is! That's how it was, and I think you know it! Name one thing she did to save us." He stares at her, hard, while she scrambles to remember what Beca had done to maintain their relationship. As the moments drag on, she realizes with some horror that she can't really think of anything.

Knowing she still has to defend Beca, Chloe stutters, "I – I mean, she probably just didn't tell me about it." It's a weak argument, and they both know it.

Jesse shakes his head and stares at the floor, his forearms resting on his knees, as he continues in a much quieter voice. "I tried _so_ hard with her. But seriously, since you guys got back from the Bellas retreat, it's like she checked out of our relationship. I guess I should have seen it coming. We barely even talked our senior year." Chloe thinks back, trying to remember the last time she even saw them interacting. Other than at Worlds, she can't think of much.

Jesse continues, "And then, instead of moving out here with me, she went off to New York on a whim with… the distance didn't work. I tried, believe me, I tried. But she missed almost every Skype date we set up, did you know that? She never called me, and when I'd call her, she'd ask why I didn't just text. We didn't talk for two weeks once because I was waiting for _her_ to text _me_ first, and she never did. Then, when did finally I message her, she acted like nothing was wrong. There's been something missing for a while. It's like she saw me as her convenient friend, not her boyfriend."

Shaken, Chloe tries again to defend Beca. "That's not fair to her. She's been busy, and – "

Jesse laughs, a dark, sarcastic laugh that she didn't know he was capable of. "That's rich! You know the real reason she pulled away from me," he says bitterly, staring at her angrily.

Taken utterly aback, Chloe looks at him with wide eyes. "What are you talking about? Don't blame me for this!"

"Don't pretend!" Jesse fires out, running a hand roughly over his hair. "I see how you two look at each other! She talks about you all the time! She went with _you_ after graduation instead of me! It's always been like that," he sighs. "Always."

Chloe blinks rapidly. Does Beca really talk about her that much? "She's my best friend…" she says slowly.

Jesse tilts his head to look at her disbelievingly. "Oh, come on. I'm not stupid, Chloe. I know you crushed on her all through college. Anyone could see it with how you looked at her. And I know that's why you don't like me," he added. "It's okay. That's why I never really liked you, either."

Stunned, Chloe felt the heat rise in her face at his accusations. She watches as Jesse breaks down in front of her. All the fight leaves his body as he covers his face with his hands, taking deep breaths. She doesn't know what to say, so instead she waits for him to say something. When he finally lifts his head to look at her, his eyes are wet. She doesn't think she'd ever seen anyone look so defeated.

"You won," he whispers. "The worst part is you didn't even know there was a fight going on. She chose you, even when you never asked her to."

Shame washes over Chloe and she wanted to hide her own face now. She'd thought she'd successfully hidden her feelings for Beca and her distaste for Jesse. She's suddenly uncomfortable, wondering if she's indirectly responsible for the breakup.

"So…" she starts hesitantly, "You broke up with her… because of me?"

Jesse quirks his mouth, thinking about his response before answering. Chloe waits, uncertain.

"No," he finally responds with a sigh. "Not just because of you, anyway," he bit his lip, as if debating what to say next. Chloe waits patiently, reminded strongly of how Beca sometimes needs time to form the right words. "I wasn't lying when I said what we have became more of a friend love. I do love her, but I realized that I'm not in love with her anymore. If I was, I'd have never let her go. I don't think she was ever in love with me, though. Not really."

Chloe furrows her brow; it had been clear – painfully so – to her for three years that Beca loved Jesse. "You're wrong," she insists. "Beca does love you."

Jesse winces slightly and replies, "I reckon she does, yeah. But not like I'd have wanted her to. If she loved me like that, she'd have tried as hard with me as she does with you."

Looking into his eyes, Chloe knows he's right. Beca hadn't really fought for Jesse, hadn't even tried to change his mind on the phone. Beca always tried with Chloe, though. She'd text her encouragement at her internship, would always make the effort to watch TV shows and the occasional movie with her, even though she hated movies. Beca always prioritized her and put effort into their friendship. Yet again, guilt and shame came over Chloe; she'd come to yell at Jesse for not trying hard enough and for hurting Beca, when in reality, he had every right to be angry at both of them.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers, unable to meet his gaze.

She hears him huff, heavy and disappointed. "It's not your fault. You shouldn't feel bad," he responds. "I don't think she even knows how she feels about you. I'm guessing that sucks just as much."

It's Chloe's turn to wince; he's right. It hurts. Desperately wanting to shift the attention from herself, Chloe restates, "She does love you, really. You were her first friend at Barden. Don't forget that."

Jesse smiles softly at the thought, some happiness finally returning to his face. "I reckon I'm her best friend, besides you."

Relieved that he no longer looks so devastated, Chloe agrees. "I think you're right. Just don't tell that to Amy."

The tension breaks between them as Jesse lets out a genuine laugh. Chloe smiles at the noise; it had been disconcerting to see him so uncharacteristically low.

Once his laughter dies, Jesse began cautiously, "Just… make her happy. You were right that she deserves better. She deserves to be happy."

Chloe's eyebrows shoot to her hairline. Is Jesse saying what she thinks he's saying?

He continues before she can interrupt. "I think you and I love her more than just about anyone. Somehow, we were lucky enough for her to love us back. And it looks like you've made her happier than I ever could. Do me a favor, Chloe, and keep her happy. I can live with this as long as she's happy."

Chloe feels the magnitude of what Jesse is saying. He looks at her earnestly, fixing her with one of the most intense gazes she's ever received.

Finally, she nods, swallowing hard. She replies sincerely, "There's nothing more important to me than her."

Jesse nods in satisfaction, appeased by her answer. "Well, that's it, then."

Chloe stares mutely; she feels shell-shocked. Is this real life? Jesse had basically handed her an opening.

He interrupts her thoughts with a hurried, "Just smile, I really need you to smile right now."

She looks at him, startled. "What?"

"I need to know I did the right thing," he explains. "You're happy, right?"

The guilt is still there, but she can't lie to Jesse or to herself. The hope she'd been shoving away since she saw Beca and Jesse kiss after the Bellas' first Nationals win floods her heart. She knows it's wrong to be this joyful while both Jesse and Beca are struggling, but she can't help herself. Thoughts of a possible future with Beca fills her mind and a beaming smile spreads over her face.

Jesse snorts. "Well, at least I was right about that," he says. "No need to brag about it."

"Sorry," she replies sheepishly. "It's just. She makes me happy, too. She's so – so _her_."

"I know what you mean," smiles Jesse. "I'm not quite sure how she does it."

On a whim, Chloe reaches out, placing a hand on his arm. "You should text her. She really misses you."

Jesse nods. "I miss her, too. She's important to me. Always will be, probably."

They talk for a little longer then, about Jesse's new life in Los Angeles and Chloe's in New York. They share memories of college and of Beca, laughing a little over some of the more amusing experiences they'd had as members of opposing a cappella groups. As she spends more time alone with him than she ever had before, Chloe realizes that Jesse is a pretty great guy. She can see why Beca had allowed him to break down her walls as she had, to love him. When he smiles, his entire face opens up and he looks utterly charming. He is able to joke and to keep bitterness from seeping into his voice when talking about Beca.

She glances at the clock when there's a natural lull in their conversation to see that she's been there for nearly two hours. Her eyebrows rise in surprise; it was surprisingly easy to talk to Jesse. Something had changed between them.

"Well, I suppose…" she trails off, indicating the door.

Jesse nods. "Yeah, I guess I should clean up a little in case Amy shows up next," he jokes. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"I'm good, thanks though. And thanks for letting me in," Chloe says, fiddling with her purse as she picks it up off the floor. "I needed to know why. Sorry about hitting you."

With a small, sad smile, Jesse replies, "I get – you love her. I'd have done the same. And my face is fine," he gestures toward his cheek, no longer red.

They stand and he opens the door, holding it for her. She pauses in the doorway to meet his eyes.

"I'll take care of her. Even if she never does figure it out, you know. No matter what, I'll take care of her," Chloe states firmly.

"Good," Jesse says back. "I expect you to."

They smile at each other one last time, in agreement over the one person they love most. Chloe steps outside to make her way back to the elevator, hearing the door click shut behind her.

Once she hits the street again, Chloe decides to take a walk to clear her head and to figure out her plans for the weekend. _Jesse really is a good guy,_ she thinks. He'd been nothing but courteous to her the entire time even though she'd began their conversation by slapping him across the face. He had every right to be upset with her but had never let his temper out of control. She could see why he'd been good for Beca for so long. In fact, if she hadn't spent the better part of four years envious of him, they probably could have been good friends.

As Chloe wanders in search of a restaurant, she feels her phone vibrate in her bag. Reaching in and digging around, she eventually manages to extract it. She had gotten a text from Beca that read simply, "I miss you, but I'm glad you're spending time with family. Thanks for all you've done."

She types out a quick, "Miss you too, hope you're having fun with the others," before shoving her phone back into her purse. She knows she'll never be able to tell Beca what she'd really been doing. She can barely wrap her mind around it herself. She still feels some guilt over the end of Beca's and Jesse's relationship, but knows she isn't responsible. Mostly, she's excited at the thought of Beca ever feeling anything romantic toward her. After so long of pushing her feelings down, she decides that it's time to consider what they might mean for them both. She might even tell Beca eventually. After Beca has time to heal. But Chloe doesn't mind waiting; she'd wait forever if she had to.

Just then, Chloe spots a little pizza shop on a corner. Their menu, which is posted outside, claims that their deep-dish pizza is "Better than Chicago's!" Deciding that there isn't really anything that she particularly likes about Chicago anyway, Chloe enters to grab dinner and ask the locals about good hotels for the night.

As Chloe enters the restaurant, a few blocks away in his now semi-tidy apartment, Jesse stares at his phone in concentration. He types a draft, deletes it, types another, deletes that one too. With a final frustrated exhale and some anxious pacing, he finally hits 'send' on a message.

" _Beca, hey. I know you probably don't want to hear from me, but I wanted you to know – you can still talk to me about stuff, if you want. You're really important to me, and I'd like your friendship, if you want the same."_

She replies two hours later. They are going to be okay.


	6. That's When She Knew

**Consider this a continuation of the the series! This is set almost a year after graduation/Worlds and about 6 months after the events of "Chloe's Secret."**

 **As usual, I don't own anything but the mistakes.**

* * *

 **That's When She Knew**

Beca sneezed violently for what felt like the millionth time; her nose scrunched up, her body tensed, and she stopped dead in her tracks as her face exploded outwards in a torrent of mucus.

"Eww…" she groaned, examining the wet spot on the inside of her elbow, which she had used to cover her mouth. A tissue was presented to her, held between a thumb and forefinger.

Accepting it with a grunt, she glanced at the bright-eyed redhead beside her and asked bitingly, "Why are we doing this again?"

Chloe beamed at her, utterly delighted. "Because it's absolutely beautiful outside for the first time in _months_!"

Beca glared back as she blew her nose with enough force to pop her ears. She wiped, sniffled a little, and whined, "But I'm dying! Let's go back inside where I can breathe."

Chloe shook her head and smiled as she spun away from Beca to skip across the short grass of Central Park. As she moved, the slight breeze played with her hair and the sunlight made her eyes look even more impossibly blue.

"I'm sorry you have spring allergies, Bec, but it's finally nice out again and I want to celebrate! Besides, if you build up immunity now you won't be allergic later."

Beca rolled her eyes in disbelief as she shoved her used Kleenex into a pocket for later disposal. "I'm not sure that's how these things work, Chlo. The trees are like, literally attacking my face." Nevertheless, she picked up her pace slightly to catch up with Chloe so they could walk side by side again.

She never could say no to Chloe.

Chloe looked at her best friend triumphantly and the two continued their leisurely walk across Central Park. Despite her stuffy nose and itchy eyes, Beca couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of the afternoon sun warming her shoulders. It had been a long winter. They weren't used to the cold New York temperatures after living in the south for so long at Barden.

As they made their way across the grass and toward a nearby footpath, they were almost taken out by a stray Frisbee thrown by some teenagers. "Oops, sorry about that!" one goofy-looking guy called out to them as he ran by to retrieve the lost disk.

Chloe, sweet as ever, replied with a smile and a quick, "That's okay!" while Beca narrowed her eyes and muttered, "That was close, dude."

She looked around the overcrowded greenspace filled with people who shared their desire to enjoy the nice weather. There were several Nike-clad joggers, a few young kids playing around, and various people walking their dogs. Beca cringed at the sound of a screaming toddler in the distance; she wanted nothing more than to be alone with Chloe. The park was nice and all, but the number of other people there distracted her and made her feel on edge. She would have preferred a quiet walk with just the two of them and as little outside distraction as possible.

Her broody thoughts were interrupted when Chloe started, "So, I told Aubrey I'd Skype her this weekend since Stacie's planning on visiting her at the lodge and this way we can talk to them both. Is there a time you're free to join?"

Beca raised her eyebrows and glanced at Chloe before sending her gaze to the ground in front of them as they walked. "And have to hear both of you squealing at each other for the first five minutes of the call? No thanks. Also, since when does Stacie visit Aubrey?" she added in confusion, looking back up at Chloe.

Chloe clicked her tongue in protest as she narrowed her eyes and crinkled her nose. She replied with as much dignity as she could muster, "We do not _squeal_ , I have no idea what you're talking about." She took a breath and her face turned thoughtful as she continued, "As for Stacie, well, I think that started when – "

She cut off suddenly and threw her arm out to the side, catching Beca in the stomach and stopping them both in their tracks.

"Oof! What the hell?" Beca wheezed as she recovered from the sudden blow.

Chloe pointed to the ground about a yard ahead and exclaimed, "There! We almost squished the little guy!" Beca craned her neck to squint at the ground where Chloe was pointing. After a moment, she saw it: a fuzzy little black and brown caterpillar inching its way across the walkway to the grass. If Chloe hadn't stopped them, it was likely that one of them would have stepped on it.

"How the hell did you see that thing from here?" Beca asked incredulously.

Chloe shrugged and moved to the caterpillar. She squatted down and gently rolled it to its side, where it curled into a tight, protective little ball. Carefully scooping it into her hands, she squat-waddled over to a tree near the edge of the path. She placed the caterpillar back down on the ground, where it would be safe right next to the tree trunk. Chloe nodded once, apparently satisfied with the caterpillar's new placement.

Beca got a funny feeling in her chest as she watched the interaction. As Chloe dusted her hands off on her jeans and stood to face Beca, the strange feeling only intensified and spread to her stomach. She wondered vaguely if she was about to be sick on the sidewalk.

"There!" Chloe exclaimed proudly. "Now he's safe!" She picked her way back to the path and continued walking in the direction they had been headed before the interruption.

Beca stayed rooted to the spot, eyes zeroed in on her roommate's back as she walked further away. She felt…odd. Her mind drifted and her eyes lost focus as something settled into place deep within her.

In that instant, Beca realized she was in love with Chloe.

Chloe's simple act to carry the caterpillar to the tree, probably saving its life, had stunned Beca. It wasn't the first time Chloe had gone out of her way to help another creature; Chloe was the kindest person Beca had ever met. But this was a caterpillar, an insect that Beca hadn't even noticed. Chloe astounded Beca with her compassion. Chloe made Beca want to be better. She had always accepted Beca as she is, had never tried to change her, and yet, Beca wanted to be a better person for Chloe. Chloe deserved only the best people in her life, and Beca sometimes didn't think she'd earned the right to be Chloe's best friend. Beca wanted to continue trying to better herself for Chloe for the rest of her life.

She wanted a life with Chloe, and only Chloe.

Her mind was flung back to their time at Barden as she recalled the inexplicable need she'd felt to audition for the Bellas, not for herself, but to avoid disappointing a stranger who'd burst in on her shower. She remembered being confused during her freshman year and kissing Jesse because she thought she was supposed to, not because it had felt in any way right. She remembered her guilty relief when Chloe failed Russian Lit repeatedly because it meant she was going to stay at Barden. It meant she was going to stay with Beca. She remembered touches, glances, dances, that always had her feeling some confusing sense of want that she had immediately shoved down.

She remembered being absolutely terrified of life beyond college, until lyrics of a familiar song, sung over a campfire, had grounded her. She remembered the moment she'd locked eyes with Chloe, whose face had been gently bathed in golden light from the campfire. She'd thought that she was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen. That was the instant Chloe became home. From then on, Chloe filled her thoughts more than Jesse ever had.

Beca loved Chloe. Was in love with Chloe. Maybe she had been for a while.

Beca supposed that she should have seen it coming, really. Since the retreat, the thought of losing Chloe had been unbearable. After they graduated and won Worlds, Beca's future had, for a time, looked as though it would be Chloe-less. It had been dark, uncertain, and had developed a gray hue without Chloe's sunshine. Within a few days following the Worlds competition, Beca had found herself starting to dread her original plan of moving to LA. Sure, she'd be with Jesse, but that option lacked Chloe, which was unacceptable.

It had felt like a miracle when she'd gotten the call from BFD, Residual Heat's sister company. New York was expensive, though, and she'd need roommates. She'd known exactly who to ask. Beca couldn't remember ever feeling more relieved than when Chloe had agreed to come with her. A weight was lifted from her chest; instead of a gray future, she saw a bright red and ocean blue one filled with sunshine and warmth.

She had never really liked living with other people; even the Bella house had been a bit much for her sometimes. So, Beca had been surprised (but not really all that surprised) when she realized that she liked living with Chloe. Like, a lot. She kind of loved it. And when Chloe had gone to Florida to visit her parents the weekend after Jesse had broken up with her, Beca should have taken a hint from how much she'd missed Chloe, even though she'd been with Amy and several other Bellas. Not having Chloe next to her had felt like she was missing an arm. She'd felt lost, and not from the breakup.

She should have known then.

Even now, though, it didn't feel like some huge revelation; there was no lighting strike, the earth didn't move under her feet, she wasn't left gasping for air. It simply felt like something within her chest – within her being – had clicked into place. She felt whole, complete. She hadn't known she was incomplete until the pieces fit, and now she wondered how she had gone so long without all the parts assembled. Beca vaguely registered that she should be scared, terrified even, of her feelings. Her younger self would have immediately shut down, rejected her own emotions, and would have built towering walls against Chloe. She would have left. She would have run.

Beca Mitchell was in love with Chloe Beale.

The old Beca would have closed Chloe out, thinking that eventually the redhead would leave her. The old Beca would have cut ties now before the inevitable pain later, because there was no way, no possibility, of Chloe loving her in return. Freshman year Beca would have run and never looked back.

The mere thought of leaving Chloe shot agony through her chest and she gasped.

The current Beca had grown up. She had painstakingly dismantled her own walls brick by brick throughout college and up to the present. She still held strangers at a distance with wit and sarcasm and was slow to make new friendships, but for the most part, her walls were a lot more like paper than like stone. She had a select group of people to thank for that. The Bellas had wormed their way past every barrier she had thrown at them until she had accepted each and every one of them into her heart. Jesse had also contributed to the dismantling of her walls with his own sledgehammer, breaking through to her until she had loved him, even if it turned out to be more of a friendship love in the end.

But if Jesse had been a sledgehammer against her walls, Chloe had been a wrecking ball. Somehow, Chloe had taken Beca completely by surprise. Or, wait – maybe it wasn't so much that Chloe had _broken_ _down_ Beca's walls, but rather that Beca realized Chloe wouldn't stop trying to get through them, so she decided to open up to save them both needless effort. Chloe had always been different. Beca knew that no matter how hard she tried, even if she threw Chloe from her life and never saw her again, there was no way she could ever build a wall between her heart and Chloe Beale. It was unthinkable.

Beca loved Chloe, and always would.

So no, Beca couldn't run. It wasn't even an option. But what if Chloe didn't feel the same toward her? That would be torture.

Oh God. What _if_ Chloe didn't feel the same way? Why would she? Beca's heart throbbed as she realized this very likely possibility. Chloe was beautiful, inside and out, whereas Beca was… just Beca. She was grumpy, sarcastic, sometimes unfriendly, and overall average-looking in the right lighting.

She never would have moved the caterpillar. Not that she'd have stepped on it purposely, of course, but she'd simply never considered the potential for its existence. She wasn't like Chloe. She wasn't good enough.

Why would Chloe want her, when so many others haven't? She thought she'd had a good thing with Jesse, but he hadn't stayed in the end. Though they still talked, it didn't change the fact that he hadn't wanted to be with her anymore. If he didn't want her, why would Chloe?

Fear choked Beca as she thought of how it had hurt when she'd lost Jesse. That rejection had stung much more than she thought it would. Sure, they had started to grow apart, but somehow, she felt that it had been more personal than Jesse had ever let on. She thought he'd been withholding something from her about their breakup, like maybe she never knew the real reason. Though they were friends now, she carried the memory of that pain in her chest. She wasn't sure she could survive a similar rejection from Chloe.

Just before a desperate scream of self-pity threatened to break free from her and cause a scene in Central Park, a wave of memories flooded Beca's mind. Each lasted only an instant and flashed before her eyes like some cheesy movie montage: harmonizing to _Titanium_ in a shower; being pulled close at hood night; arms around her, guiding her through choreography; a fight that felt like a breakup; a whispered desire for experimentation (Beca's stomach fluttered at that memory); the hardening of bright blue eyes at the mention of Jesse; countless lingering stares she'd pretended not to notice; a hand reaching for hers at every opportunity; a body curled into hers every morning in their shared bed; Chloe making dinner and leaving leftovers for her; Chloe always making sure she arrived places safely; Chloe's hair filling her peripherals as she was hugged from behind; Chloe's endless support and belief in her; Chloe watching her mix when she thought she wouldn't notice; Chloe's gaze over a bonfire. Chloe, in love with her.

Relief washed over Beca even as her cheeks warmed and reddened with shame; how could she have missed it? Beca knew that Chloe loved her but had never considered that she might love her as more than a best friend. However, thinking back, she grew frustrated with herself. How could she have been so blind? Chloe had been telling her she loved her for years, and Beca had only just noticed. She wanted to both laugh with joy and punch herself in the face for being so oblivious.

Beca still had not moved from where Chloe had stopped to save the caterpillar. Only seconds had passed, but Beca's whole world had changed, truly not with a bang but with a whisper. Her eyes refocused and she snapped out of her own mind to see Chloe standing several feet ahead looking back, clearly confused as to why Beca hadn't continued walking with her.

Chloe beckoned to her impatiently and called out, "Why are you just standing there? Do you have to sneeze again?"

Beca shook her head slowly, still reeling slightly as she mumbled too quietly for anyone to hear, "N-No, I'll be right…there…"

Chloe wrinkled her brows, craned her upper body toward Beca and asked, "What? Just – come here! I've been waiting for you!"

A corner of Beca's mouth lifted into a half smile at the word choice. She jogged awkwardly to catch up to Chloe, suddenly nervous. However, when they were side by side again, the sight of familiar blue eyes sent waves of calm determination crashing over her. She knew what she had to do.

With a deep breath, she looked into Chloe's eyes and said, "Chloe…I'm here. You don't have to wait anymore."

Chloe looked completely bewildered. "Allergies getting to you, Bec? No need to be so dramatic."

Beca almost laughed, irritated with herself; she was so bad with words. Her spine straightened as she tried again. "No, I'm um. I'm just – um."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. Beca couldn't blame her. Her mutterings sounded like those of a mental patient.

Yet, Chloe waited as she always did, knowing that Beca needed time to find the right words. Beca fell even more in love with her at the gesture. God, how had she gone so long without knowing?

Beca continued, "I'm trying to say… yeah. Yeah, you have been waiting for me. For a while, I think. And I'm trying to tell you that – well, that you don't have to wait anymore. I'm, like. I'm here. I'm ready. So… you don't need to wait anymore. Yeah?"

Chloe stared at her, confused apprehension etched across her face. Beca stayed silent, hoping that she had gotten the message. After a moment, Chloe began in a quietly vulnerable voice, "I don't…what are you… Beca?"

Beca decided to take the plunge, ignoring the fear in her chest. "Chloe, I think – and you really need to stop me if I'm wrong and just a big idiot – but I don't think I'm wrong, I think – well I know I was an idiot before, but I mean now – I think that you might like me? Like, _like_ _like_ me? As in want to be with? Like date? And that you might have felt that for a while and I just missed it? Am I right? Do you _like_ _like_ me?"

Beca stopped her word vomit to finally inhale, her eyes never once leaving Chloe's face, not wanting to miss the smallest reaction from her best friend.

She'd missed so much over the years. She didn't want to risk missing anything now.

Throughout Beca's speech, the color had drained from Chloe's face, and her mouth had opened slightly in surprise. She finally closed and swallowed, hard, her throat bobbing. Her eyes moved from Beca's, flickering between her and the ground. Beca watched as the muscles in Chloe's cheeks twitched and knew that she was clenching her jaw. Chloe looked scared, like a small animal trapped in a corner. Beca had never seen Chloe so uncomfortable. Her stomach plummeted; she'd been wrong, and now Chloe was the one who was going to run.

Suddenly watery eyes met tentative dark blue ones, and Chloe choked out, shaking her head, "Bec… I'm sorry."

Beca felt as though she'd been slapped. Shit. Her gaze dropped and her face burned in shame. She'd crossed a line, and she had no idea how to save what was left. "Shit, Chloe, I – "

"Beca Mitchell!" Chloe cut her off her sharply. Her eyes snapped back up to stare at Chloe in shock as she continued, "Don't you _dare_ interrupt me right now. Let me finish, please."

Beca nodded frantically, desperate for Chloe to keep talking.

With a deep, steadying breath, Chloe resumed. "I'm sorry. You have to understand – I never meant to fall for you." Beca's eyebrows shot up. Did Chloe just say – but she was speaking again, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

"I just, I don't know, I saw you at the activities fair that day and you looked so beautiful, and then we sang together and something just clicked for me, and I couldn't get you out of my head. And then you had Jesse, and I felt horrible, Bec, honestly, I tried so hard to not to like you, but I couldn't help it because you were always so perfect, and I just – "

Beca had heard all she needed to. She lunged forward and clutched desperately at Chloe, one hand placed on her cheek and the other flung around the back of her neck. She saw Chloe's eyes widen just before she slid her own shut. She pressed her lips against Chloe's, muffling whatever words were going to come spilling out with the rest of her rant. Beca tried to put everything she could into that kiss, everything she'd realized in the last moments.

At first, Chloe didn't respond and Beca almost pulled away, worried that she'd somehow misunderstood. But then, Chloe's lips softened under hers and strong arms encircled her waist to pull their bodies closer together. Their lips moved against each other; Chloe tasted like sunshine and strawberries. Beca felt like she was floating away.

Beca pulled back briefly to double check Chloe's reaction; when the contact between their lips broke, Chloe's eyes fluttered open. She looked dazed, her eyes slightly unfocused.

She was absolutely beautiful.

"Was that okay?" Beca checked quietly. "I'm sorry, I should have asked first."

Chloe smiled softly and Beca's insides melted a little.

"That was completely okay. In fact…"

Chloe closed the space between them this time, and they kissed again with more care. Beca noticed that Chloe's mouth fit perfectly against hers, with Chloe's lower lip nestled between both of Beca's. The kiss was brief and stayed PG (they were in the middle of a crowded Central Park, after all), but Beca didn't think she had ever been kissed with so much love in her life. Her skin burned pleasantly where Chloe's lips met hers. She'd never felt anything like it.

They broke apart naturally but kept their bodies close. During the kiss, both of Beca's arms had ended up around the back of Chloe's neck, resting on her shoulders. They smiled shyly at each other before Beca cleared her throat awkwardly. Wanting Chloe to understand her completely, she said, "You don't need to wait for me anymore, Chlo. I'm sorry it took so long, but I'm here. I want to be with you."

Chloe smiled blissfully and said, "Mmm, I think we can arrange that."

With a mild sense of horror, Beca realized her eyes felt a little watery. Gah. Must be the damn allergies. Blinking rapidly, she grinned back at Chloe, hardly able to believe her ears.

Suddenly, panic gripped her heart; what if Chloe meant this as a fling? Beca didn't think she could stand it if Chloe was planning on this being too casual. Beca knew she was too far gone for anything between them to be considered a meaningless fling. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and forced the words from her mouth.

"Good," she said, "Because I'm about to completely demolish our friendship." Her eyes opened in time to see concern cross Chloe's face as she continued. "And… you don't have to say it back – I know this is coming out of nowhere, but – I … I love you."

Chloe's eyebrows jumped to her hairline and her jaw dropped. Beca would have laughed if she hadn't been holding her breath in anticipation. All at once, Chloe's face shifted to an unreadable expression that sent adrenaline shooting to Beca's already shaking legs.

Chloe leaned forward slowly until her mouth was at Beca's ear. Beca, rooted to the spot, didn't think she could move even if she wanted to. With a soft exhale, Chloe whispered, "Can I tell you a secret?"

Beca nodded mutely, more frightened than she had ever been before, including the time she'd almost died in that bear trap. Chloe chuckled softly, then breathed into Beca's ear, "It's a good thing that I love you, too."

Beca's heart soared and her face broke into a huge smile which Chloe matched with her own once she'd leaned back enough to see Beca properly.

"Oh. Okay," Beca managed to choke out, happier than she could ever remember being.

"Well," said Chloe, leaning again to press a brief kiss against Beca's smile, "that settles it."

Cheeks sore from her smile, Beca chased Chloe's lips with her own until they met again. She'd never get tired of kissing Chloe.

When they broke apart again, Beca laughed at Chloe's slightly pink cheeks. "I like doing that."

"Me, too," replied Chloe. "But we _are_ in public."

Oops. Beca looked around to see that more than a few people had started to watch their interaction, including the teenage boys that had been playing Frisbee. Yikes. "I forgot," Beca said sheepishly as her own face warmed.

With a wink and the smirk she had learned from Beca, Chloe nudged her harm playfully and purred, "It's okay. I know a place we can go."

Beca's right hand slid down naturally to be enveloped in Chloe's left as Chloe turned and led them back in the direction of their apartment, both wearing identical smiles. Beca, lighter than air, knew that she'd follow Chloe just about anywhere, whether it be a cappella auditions or an unknown future.

She'd be okay, as long as Chloe was with her.


	7. Expectations

**This immediately follows the events of "That's When She Knew" in this series, so it will likely not make sense unless you read that first! Again, set almost one year after PP2.  
**

* * *

 **Expectations**

Beca couldn't stop smiling. It was kind of gross, actually, how happy and bright she was. Her cheeks ached, her teeth were kind of dry, and she worried she was inadvertently on her way to becoming a mouth-breather. But it was okay, because if she had it her way, the reason for her borderline manic smile would be with her forever, holding her hand as they climbed the stairs to their small Brooklyn apartment.

Chloe couldn't stop laughing. She hung tight to Beca's hand even though the stairway was really too narrow for anything but single-file travel. As a result, her arm was awkwardly twisted behind her so that Beca's fingers remained laced between hers even as she led them both to the apartment door.

Beca noticed how perfectly their hands fit together. She couldn't imagine ever letting go.

Chloe turned to look back over her shoulder at Beca and beamed, radiating joy that warmed Beca from head to toe. Beca's smile only widened as yet another peal of laughter escaped Chloe.

At that moment, more focused on the woman with her than on the stairs, Chloe tripped on a step and fell forward with a surprised "Oof!" Reflexively, she tried to use her arms to catch herself, forgetting that one hand was already full. Chloe's grasp yanked Beca forward sharply and they landed hard on the stairs, Beca on top of Chloe.

"Shit, are you okay?" Beca asked frantically as she scrambled off Chloe, shaking their hands free of one another.

"Ugh…" Chloe groaned as she slowly rolled herself over to sit on the stair she'd tripped on. "I think so?"

"Are you sure? Do we need to go to the hospital? Can you wiggle your fingers? Does it hurt when –"

"Beca," Chloe said firmly, "I'm fine, I just tripped. And then an elephant landed on me," she added teasingly.

Beca's mouth dropped in mock outrage. "Excuse me!" she exclaimed, "You pulled me down! If anyone should be complaining, it's me!"

"Is that right?" Chloe asked, smiling mischievously as she reached forward to hold Beca's hand again.

"Well… yeah. It is," Beca tried to say confidently, attempting to ignore the patterns Chloe was tracing on the back of her hand and up her wrist.

"Hmm," was the response, followed by, "Did you not like being on top?"

Beca choked on nothing, blinking dumbly at Chloe. "That's – no – I liked –"

Chloe's laugh, light and full, cut off her rambling. "Oh, Bec," she managed, "You're too easy!"

Not wanting to be outdone, Beca threw on a smirk and leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of Chloe's hips. She heard Chloe's breath catch at the sudden proximity and she smirked, nudging their noses together gently. She dipped her head, lips barely brushing Chloe's and then pulled back teasingly. She smiled when Chloe chased after her, enjoying the effect her teasing had had.

"I like being on top just fine," she whispered. "But can you handle it?" She was only kidding, and not really meaning for anything to come from it, so she was surprised by the little whine that came from Chloe.

"Come here, then," Chloe breathed. "We'll find out."

Beca obliged immediately, extending forward to place a soft kiss against Chloe's lips, marveling at the sense of rightness that came over her at the action. Chloe's hands went either side of Beca's neck, holding her steady.

They kept the kiss brief and pulled away after a few seconds to rest their foreheads together.

"I love you," Beca said softly, giddy with happiness.

"I love you, too," Chloe responded immediately. "And I can't believe I get to say that to you."

"It is still a new thing, isn't it?" commented Beca as she rose to stand back from Chloe, tugging her upright by the hand.

Shaking her head slowly and threading their fingers together again, Chloe replied, "Sort of, but it's been there for a while. Now we just get to tell each other."

Her face stretching into yet another smile, Beca agreed, "True. And I really, really like it."

Chloe merely responded with a laugh as she tightened her hold on Beca's hand and resumed leading her to their apartment. By some miracle, they arrived at their door without further injury. Beca reached her free hand into her pocket for her keys, struggling slightly to extract them from her skinny jeans.

"I'm glad Amy's gone for the week," Chloe said airily when Beca finally fished out the keys.

"Oh?" Beca glanced at her.

Chloe nodded, "Yeah, it'll be nice to have some privacy tonight."

Beca fumbled the keys, nearly dropping them as she registered Chloe's words. Or, more specifically, the potential implication behind them.

Deciding she was reading too much into it, Beca cast the thought away. Finally, with a jingle of metal, she managed to unlock the door, granting them access to their home. They tried to enter simultaneously, bumping their shoulders into the doorframe and bouncing back.

"Chlo," Beca laughed, "We can't fit through the door at the same time. You have to let go of my hand."

Jutting her lower lip out into a pout, Chloe reluctantly released Beca's hand and entered the apartment.

"Sorry Bec," she said, amused, "I didn't want to stop touching you."

Beca snorted as she too entered and shut the door behind her. She meant to respond equally as flirtatiously, but the words got lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth as she fully registered Chloe's words. She wasn't used to Chloe being this forward. Confident and teasing, sure, but the whole "top" thing in the hall and then the flirting was new territory. She found herself reeling a little, uncertain of what Chloe was getting at.

"So," she started awkwardly, noticing with surprise that Chloe was very obviously staring at their shared fold-out bed. "Should we, like, order some takeout, or…"

Tearing her eyes away from the bed, Chloe looked around at Beca with a casual, "Nah, I'm not hungry yet, maybe later?"

"Sure," Beca replied easily. She wasn't hungry either, though her stomach was beginning to flutter for some reason.

With a wicked smile, Chloe reached forward to hook her fingers in Beca's belt loops. Giving a tug, she pulled Beca to her for a kiss as Beca wound her arms around Chloe's neck. Even though they kept the kiss tame and soft, Beca's skin burned at the contact, her senses and emotions heightened by the thrill of the day and the newness of tasting Chloe's lips.

Chloe pulled back only far enough to brush their noses together as she changed the angle to continue the kiss, her lips capturing Beca's once again. Experimenting, they played with different pressures and angles, getting to know each other's styles.

The kiss came to a natural end when they both had to breathe. Breaking their contact and stepping back so she could see Beca's face, Chloe quietly said, "I'm not used to that yet."

Beca's mouth quirked upward and she replied, "Me neither."

"I like it, though. A lot," said Chloe, biting her lip and letting her eyes fall to focus back on Beca's mouth.

"Me too…" responded Beca slowly. The fluttering in her stomach increased, but not necessarily in a good way. The situation was starting to make her uneasy; was Chloe implying that she wanted to do more than gentle kissing and take things further? _It would make sense if she did,_ Beca thought. _That's probably what most people would do._

She wanted to ask Chloe about it, about what she was expecting to happen, but she didn't want to seem weird or kill the mood. Though they'd said the "L-word" multiple times already, she'd only figured out that she was in love with Chloe less than an hour before. There was still a lot for her to process, but it seemed like Chloe was expecting more; she'd made comments about privacy, and being on top, and she'd been looking at the bed.

Okay, so Chloe almost definitely wanted to take things up a notch. Beca could do that. There was nothing wrong with a healthy make-out session. To be honest, she kind of wanted to get on with that too.

"So," she started uncertainly, not sure how Chloe wanted to do this. "Should we, like…?" Her nerves getting the best of her, Beca resorted to trailing off and gesturing between herself and Chloe with her hands.

Smiling shyly, Chloe replied, "Yeah, I guess we should. We are adults, I suppose."

Beca's breath hitched and she paused, confused by Chloe's answer. Wow, okay. So, Chloe really wanted this to be at the next level.

Floundering, Beca managed, "Oh, uh, so, just standing here?" She figured that standing where they were was a good a place as any to start the ball rolling. She might even use the door if the moment seemed right and if it was okay with Chloe.

With a gentle laugh, Chloe replied, "No, we should get comfy. Join me on the bed?"

Beca's stomach jolted.

Without waiting for Beca's response, Chloe slipped off her shoes, dropped her purse on the floor, and sat on their shared fold out. She scooted backward, and after propping up some pillows, reclined against the back of the couch that served as the headboard.

"This is okay, right?" she asked once comfortable.

Beca nodded automatically, blinking a few times. "Yep," she heard herself squeak out, "That's, like, good."

Everything was suddenly moving very quickly. Much _too_ quickly. Beca wasn't at all sure what was happening or where Chloe was going with this. She needed a second to come to her senses or she was going to combust.

"Um," she said breathlessly, "I'm just gonna go – uh – to the bathroom?" her voice rose at the end of the sentence.

Chloe beamed at her, oozing contentment as Beca stuttered through her words.

"Okay," she replied, "Hurry back."

Her face warming, Beca all but lunged for their bathroom – a tiny area hidden from the rest of the apartment by a shower curtain – and yanked the curtain in place behind her, making it rattle against the rod. She spun to face the mirror and leaned forward over the sink, trying to calm her racing heart. Jesus. Exactly how far did Chloe want to go?

After a moment, she remembered that Chloe could clearly hear her; their shower curtain did nothing to conceal noise. She fumbled for the sink, turning it on and letting it run for a moment before sticking her hand under and splashing her face with some of the cold water.

As she dried her cheeks on a towel, she caught sight of her own wide eyes in the mirror and paused, staggered by her own abrupt anxiety. What was wrong with her? It was only Chloe out there.

Chloe. The literal embodiment of perfection, who, somehow, was as in love with Beca as Beca was with her. It didn't make sense to Beca, that someone so bright could love her, but Chloe did. And now… was Chloe expecting them to act on that realization?

Once she'd finished dabbing her face dry, Beca replaced the towel on its rack and turned the faucet off. She once again leaned forward, bracing her hands on the sink as she let her head roll forward. She needed a moment to think. It would make sense for them to take things up a notch, physically. Chloe had said she'd been in love with Beca for years; there was probably a lot of tension built up.

She wasn't opposed to staying in their apartment and making out. Not at all. In fact, the thought of that made her hands clench involuntarily on the sink's edge and her belly tighten. But it almost seemed as though Chloe was ready to take things even further. The way she'd lain on the bed, the way she'd used the word "adult." Well. Typically, tagging "adult" on things had pretty significant implications. Beca's heart thudded almost painfully in her chest as she considered the possibility that Chloe wanted more than making out. That Chloe might want to have sex.

God.

Chloe was probably _expecting_ them to have sex.

Isn't that what you do when you realize that you love someone? That you're in love with that someone? Isn't it kind of the next natural step?

Beca swallowed hard. The idea of sex with Chloe was… intriguing. She figured she'd enjoy it; Chloe always had been a very physical person, and Beca wasn't blind. She saw how fit Chloe was, how breathtakingly beautiful. And merely the kissing had been phenomenal. She was definitely attracted to Chloe. Like, a lot. She loved Chloe. Anyone would be lucky to be in her place.

But what if she wasn't good enough?

The strength of her attraction didn't change that Beca had only just realized that she was in love with Chloe. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said that it would take some getting used to. She needed time to change her mindset from "friend Chloe" to "girlfriend Chloe." For Christ's sake, they hadn't even used the word "girlfriend" yet or talked about an official relationship status.

That morning, they'd woken up as best friends. And now, by some weird turn of events, Chloe was sprawled on their bed, waiting for her. Expecting her to prove her feelings.

Right now, Chloe Beale was on their bed, expecting Beca to make love to her.

Beca squeezed her eyes shut at the rush of fear that shot through her. Again, _what if she wasn't good enough?_ She had no qualms about Chloe's abilities, but her own… it had been a while since the last time. And that had been with Jesse. It was entirely different. Embarrassment swept through her as she considered that she might disappoint Chloe.

"Bec? You good?" Beca's eyes flew open at the sound of Chloe calling for her.

"Yep!" she called back, thankful that her voice sounded relatively normal. "Almost ready!"

"Okay!"

Christ. Why had she said that? Now Chloe probably thought Beca was getting ready for them to have sex.

 _What would that even entail?_ Beca wondered frantically, her mind spiraling. _The getting ready part._ By some lucky circumstance, she'd shaved her legs that morning. Should she take care of other things? Maybe brush her teeth? But, no, that would take too long, and Chloe was probably getting weirded out by how long she'd been in the bathroom already – it had been more than a couple of minutes. Too much longer, and she'd be entering sketchy town.

With a deep breath through her nose, Beca forced herself to meet her own eyes in the mirror. She stood back from the sink, running a hand through her hair to make it look presentable.

Oh God. She had no idea what she was doing. She'd never had sex with a woman before, and Chloe was probably expecting it to be great.

It almost certainly wouldn't be.

Beca wasn't ready.

But apparently, Chloe was.

And she'd do anything for Chloe. Even this.

Doing her best to ignore the tightening in her throat and the tremor in her knees, Beca turned and flung open the shower curtain, hoping that the display of confidence would drive away her nerves. It did not. Rather, the fresh sight of Chloe laying on her back on their bed, eyes half closed and breathing slowly with a small smile on her face, sent Beca's pulse into overdrive.

She wasn't sure she could do this. There was no turning back once they crossed that line together.

She wanted to run and hide.

But Chloe had heard her rip aside the curtain and was looking at her, eyes wide open again and face expectant. It was too late to run now. Her only choice was to launch herself from the bathroom and into the main area of the apartment before she chickened out.

"Hey," Beca said, inwardly cringing at the slight break in her voice. "Give me just a sec?"

Chloe nodded, throwing Beca the brightest smile she'd ever seen. Beca vaguely registered how excited Chloe looked before she turned her gaze to the floor.

She moved to stand between the end of the bed and their table, still not looking at Chloe. Once in place, she'd intended to face the bed to climb on it but changed her mind at the last moment and instead turned the other way, her back to Chloe and their bed, pretending to be examining the mail spread over the table's surface. In reality, her eyes stared down, unfocused, as the situation between her and Chloe became vividly, alarmingly real.

She could feel Chloe's eyes on her; of course, she was watching her, waiting for her. Beca swallowed hard. Her mind was spinning, whirring, flying a mile a minute as she tried to stave off her panic.

She knew that Chloe had experience with sex, with guys as well as probably some girls, at least she thought. And it's not like she was a pure Mayflower, either – she had dated Jesse for more than three years. But that was different. She'd made him wait a long time, and even then, it hadn't felt completely right. It hadn't been bad, but she never felt the connection that books and movies always seemed so hyped up about. She figured it was because while she'd definitely loved him, she hadn't really been in love with him.

That had to make a difference, right? So, with Chloe, it would be better. Right? Because they loved each other, it would be okay?

It was simply that Beca had no idea what she was doing. She knew the theory behind it all, the general mechanics of it, and she had a general idea of what she liked done to her. But she'd never been with a girl in that way, had never even kissed a girl until Chloe earlier in the day. Sure, the kissing hadn't been much different; softer, maybe, gentler, possibly more sensual and less possessive, and with a general hint of chapstick. It had been nice. Like, really nice.

Sex, though, was a whole different can of worms. Beca's mouth went dry. Who would be on top? Would they share and, like, alternate? Or was it more of a side-by-side kind of deal? And what exactly was she supposed to do with the breasty business? Would they get in the way? What if her arm cramped up? Should she try that one thing that people always joke about? And what about traveling downtown? How did that work with a girl? What if she messed up somehow and Chloe called off their whole relationship before it had really started?

Beca was breathing rapidly. Shit. Chloe was expecting some spectacular, mind-blowing sex like the kind she'd probably had with tons of other girls, and Beca was going to totally disappoint her and Chloe was never going to want to see her again. Which would be awkward, since they lived together.

Beca felt her heart rate increase. Oh God. This whole thing was a mistake and she didn't know how to have sex with a girl and it was going to be awful and she should just call it off now and move to a different apartment far far away and –

"Beca? What are you doing?"

Beca jerked at the sound of Chloe's voice, full of confusion and concern. She probably looked like a total idiot, just standing there at the end of their bed. She wondered idly if Chloe had already taken off her clothes or if she was supposed to do that part for her. Why were there so many logistics to this? Should she have taken off her makeup while she was in the bathroom so it wouldn't smear? Should she do that now? Or would that kill the mood? What was the mood? Was there still a mood?

"Beca? You…okay?"

Of course, Chloe was waiting for a response. _Oh God._

In a strangled voice that sounded nothing like her, Beca squeaked out "Yep! I'm great! I should… yep!"

She squeezed her eyes shut at how awkward and painful that had sounded. She could practically feel a hole being bored into the back of her head by Chloe's watchful stare. Why did Chloe have to know her quite so well?

She heard a rustling motion from behind and she pictured Chloe moving toward her. The thought of Chloe reaching to her, touching her, made her eyes fly open and she had to fight the urge to spring away from the bed like a madwoman.

"Wait!" She fired out sharply. The rustling stopped instantly. "I'll… let me go to you, yeah?"

"O...kay?" came the uncertain response from behind her.

Beca truly felt the panic set in then. She was pretty sure her palms were sweating, which, not sexy at all. She really wasn't sure about this. She figured that she wanted it, wanted Chloe. Beca loved Chloe, wanted to be with her. Because yeah, pretty much anyone else would give an arm and a leg to be in her situation right now. Yet here she was, quaking in her socks, because she had no idea what she was doing. Beca really, _really_ didn't want to disappoint Chloe. And as yet another agonizing moment dragged on, she knew she had to do something to get the ball rolling, or Chloe would think Beca didn't want her. Which was untrue.

Well, there was only one way back from this.

Beca reached shaking hands up to her collar and started unbuttoning. She got about halfway down before she realized that maybe she should do this facing Chloe. 'Cuz that's sexy, right? With a deep breath and a muttered curse, Beca slowly pivoted to face Chloe, her eyes downcast.

Chloe inhaled sharply when she turned, causing Beca's eyes to flick up toward her face and then immediately back down to their bed. Her cheeks warmed; even though it had been only a glance, she hadn't missed the surprise and, well, the arousal in Chloe's eyes.

Okay. She could do this. It was happening. Chloe clearly wanted this, and Beca was pretty sure she did, too. It's just. God, she didn't want to disappoint Chloe.

"Bec…" came Chloe's voice, whispered in a huskier tone than normal.

Waves of anxiety churned in Beca's stomach as she continued unbuttoning her flannel. Her hands refused to stop shaking, and she knew Chloe could tell. Finally, after what felt like eons, she had reached the last button at the bottom. Beca let the shirt hang so that it still partially covered her, revealing only a sliver of her stomach and the central part of her bra. She felt like she might be sick. She really had no idea what to do. Sure, she was in love with Chloe, but everything was moving so fast. She'd have liked more time to think before… well. It was too late now.

Beca forced herself to look at Chloe, who was still seated on their bed, fully clothed. Chloe was looking down at Beca's abdomen, taking in the revealed skin. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as her eyes slowly moved up Beca's torso, finally landing on her face. Beca almost flinched under the intensity of her gaze; she couldn't remember ever seeing Chloe look so open and vulnerable. For a moment, Beca thought Chloe seemed as scared as she felt. But that was impossible because this was Chloe, who emitted confidence constantly and burst into people's showers.

Steeling herself, Beca knew she had to take the plunge or she'd completely lose it from the tension crackling in the air. With slow, deliberate movements, Beca lifted her hands to right below the collar of her shirt. She could do this. It would probably become instinctual after a while, right? It would be fine. As her hands grasped the fabric, she took one final inhale, unable to maintain eye contact with Chloe at the last second. Her eyes dropped at the same time her hands started to tug the material from her body.

"Stop," said Chloe loudly, sounding utterly terrified.

Beca froze instantly, her hands holding the shirt sides at an awkward distance from her body. Shame washed over her as if she'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. She'd already done something wrong. She couldn't even manage to get her own _shirt_ off properly, how could she expect to get Chloe –

Before Beca even registered that Chloe had moved, she was standing directly in front of her, her soft hands placed delicately over Beca's, which remained clenched on her shirt.

"Wait," Chloe said with the same soothing tone she might use to calm a scared animal. "Beca, look at me."

Beca couldn't do it. Her eyes remained fixed downwards, focused on Chloe's throat, unable to meet her eyes. She'd been wrong, had done something wrong, had messed up already. Beca's eyes pricked and her jaw clenched.

"Hey," Chloe begged quietly, "Please… Beca?"

Beca desperately wanted to look up, but she couldn't bear to see the disappointment that was surely etched across Chloe's expression. She hadn't been enough for Chloe.

Finally, with a soft sigh, Chloe carefully rested a hand against Beca's jaw to tilt her face upwards. When cerulean eyes met watery navy ones, Chloe's expression softened into the most tender and loving look that Beca had ever seen directed toward her. There was no trace of disappointment or anger, only a steady, trusting love.

Chloe's hand remained on Beca's jaw while her other moved to wrap around her waist. She drew Beca into her and pressed a delicate kiss against Beca's lips. Beca's hands instinctively went to Chloe's hips and she immediately relaxed into the contact despite her previous terror as she kissed Chloe back with as much care as she could manage. Chloe's hand slid from Beca's jaw into her hair as the angle of the kiss changed. After a moment, Chloe broke away to rest her forehead against Beca's.

"You didn't do anything wrong, okay? Nothing," Chloe whispered earnestly. "But I had to stop you. I'm not… Bec, you looked –"

Beca pulled back to look at Chloe. "But aren't you… don't you want to?" She could hear the insecurity in her own voice but noted with relief that her own eyes were distinctly less liquid-filled than they had been before the kiss.

A shadow crossed Chloe's face as her eyes darkened and she bit her lower lip again. Her eyebrows drew together, and Beca saw that she was nervous. "I mean…" Chloe started, then trailed off. With a deep breath, she slowly shook her head and replied, "Not like this."

"Not like…what?" Beca asked, confused.

Chloe paused, uncharacteristically uncertain of herself. Seeming to struggle with her words, she finally said, "Like… this. Now. What you were doing just then, it didn't… I don't think we're ready, Beca."

When it became clear that she didn't have anything else to say, Beca mused, "I guess I kind of thought…"

Chloe's eyes snapped to hers, and she asked quickly, "Thought what?"

Shrugging uncomfortably, Beca said, "Well. I thought you expected it. This. Us to – well – us to have sex. I thought you were expecting it. With me. Now." Beca grimaced inwardly at her awkward rambling, hating that she sounded so ineloquent at such an important moment.

"Oh!" Chloe's eyebrows shot toward her hairline and her head jerked back slightly. She turned to sit on the end of the bed, resting her hands in her lap. She looked sheepishly up at Beca as she replied. "Um. Not really?"

It was Beca's turn to be surprised; had she really misread the situation that badly? With a puff out through her mouth, she sat on the end of the bed next to Chloe and leaned forward to rest her forearms on her knees. "Oh…" she said softly, humiliation creeping in again.

"But," she began, needing to validate her assumption, "the whole 'top' thing on the stairs, and the privacy comment, and then you said the word 'adult,' and that only ever means sex, and then you got on the bed and everything made sense and –"

Chloe stopped her by resting a hand on her back. "Beca, it's okay. You don't have to explain." Chloe ran her other hand over her face, then sighed. "I'm so, so sorry."

Beca craned her neck to look over her shoulder at Chloe with wide eyes.

"What for?" she asked.

"For being so stupid," Chloe replied. "I was just teasing in the hallway, and the privacy thing… Bec, I'm such an idiot. I meant that we'd need privacy to _talk_ about everything. That's what I meant by adult, too. That we're adults so we could have a mature, adult conversation about where we go from here relationship-wise."

Beca's mouth opened in surprise and she sat up and twisted to look at Chloe.

Chloe continued, "And then the bed… I thought it would be more relaxed for a serious conversation. I'm so sorry, I should have been better about explaining."

Beca kind of wanted to curl up in a ball and die. Looking back, she was furious with herself for thinking immediately of sex. When did she turn into such a teenage boy?

Uncomfortably, Beca said, "No, you don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have jumped there. I just panicked and things were moving so quickly – or at least, I thought they were. I guess I freaked out." She looked away from Chloe, still leaning forward, and hung her head.

"Hey," Chloe said gently, "It was a big misunderstanding. Please don't be embarrassed. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?" she resumed smoothing her hand along Beca's back, trying to reassure her. "I put out some signals and said some stupid things. I can see why it'd be easy to think that I meant…that."

Still looking at the floor, Beca nodded. "Yeah," she replied, "I definitely thought you were expecting us to… you know… do the do, or whatever."

There was a beat of silence, then Chloe started to giggle. "Do the do?" she teased, briefly resting her forehead down on Beca's back before pulling away again. "Are you, like, fifteen?"

Beca allowed herself a small grin that quickly grew into a few giggles of her own. It _was_ a pretty lame slang term for sex. "Oh, give me a break here," she pleaded, "I'm trying!"

They sat laughing for a few moments before natural quiet fell over them. Beca still felt tense and awkward, but she was relieved that Chloe hadn't thought she was weird or creepy for thinking about sex.

Chloe broke the momentary silence with a conversational "I mean… do you want to?" She could have been asking Beca if she wanted to go for a walk to the nearest food stand.

"No!" exclaimed Beca without thinking. Her head whipped around to look at Chloe the second the word had left her mouth.

It was impossible to miss the hurt that crossed Chloe's face. She looked down at her lap to avoid Beca's eyes, stung by her outburst.

A different kind of panic gripped Beca as she realized how bad that had sounded. She reached for Chloe's hand and traced her fingertips lightly over the back of it. "Wait, let me… that's not what I meant." Taking it as a good sign that Chloe didn't pull away, but rather had turned her hand over to lace their fingers together, Beca tried to salvage the train wreck that had just happened.

"It's not that I don't want to, because I do, but… I'm a little lost here," Grimacing, Beca decided to be completely honest. "Okay. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never done this with a woman."

Chloe looked back up at Beca with a small smile, and Beca knew she'd already been forgiven for her callousness. Chloe pulled on her arm, moving their hands into her lap and forcing Beca to scoot closer to her on the bed. "It's okay," she said. "I know you didn't mean it like that."

Beca shook her head rapidly, which made Chloe laugh. Beca smiled back, relieved that the suffocating tension between them had finally broken so that they could talk properly.

Chloe leaned into Beca's side, resting her head on Beca's left shoulder. "We definitely don't have to. I hadn't even thought about it, really. You surprised me."

Beca snorted and craned her neck to look down at what she could see of Chloe's head from the cramped angle. "Really?" she asked, her voice laced with skepticism. She knew full well the value Chloe tended to place on the physical side of a relationship, so she didn't believe for a second that Chloe hadn't considered sex a possibility.

With a short laugh of her own, Chloe relented. "Ugh, why do you know me so well? Okay, I did think about it for a second on the walk back here, but I assumed we'd wait."

Wryly, Beca responded, "Well, you know what they say about assuming things…" Chloe lifted her head from Beca's shoulder and shoved her playfully.

"Hey! Watch it!" Beca shot out as she swung her upper body back to bounce against Chloe's side. After their playfulness faded, Beca looked made eye contact with Chloe and asked tentatively, "So, you don't want to do this with me?"

Widening her eyes, Chloe was quick to assert, "Of course do! I've thought about sleeping with you for years!"

Beca choked on air and she gasped out a "What?!" as Chloe's face turned slightly pink at the realization of what she'd just blurted. "Dude, that's like – okay, I mean, it's fine obviously but like – you, wow, that's –"

"Oh, whatever, Beca Mitchell," Chloe interrupted, "It's not like you were Subtle McGee either, you know! I totes caught you staring at me during Bella workouts."

Gaping wordlessly, Beca opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to honestly deny the accusation. Finally, she mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "Control your toner." Chloe rolled her eyes, a habit she'd picked up from Beca.

There was a comfortable pause in the conversation, and Beca realized that Chloe had put her completely at ease with the whole situation. Knowing that Chloe hadn't expected them to have sex right away soothed her, though Beca still wanted to ensure Chloe's happiness with the outcome of their conversation. She would be willing to try if that was what Chloe wanted.

"So," Beca said slowly, "since you've wanted _all this_ ," she gestured grandly down her own body, "for so very long, maybe we should…" Her confidence faltered and she felt a nervous pang in her stomach when Chloe's eyes raked not-so-innocently down her body. An instant later, however, Chloe's gaze had returned to Beca's face with a guilty look and an apologetic smile.

"I don't know, Bec… I saw that look on your face earlier. Your hands were shaking so much you could barely unbutton your shirt. Are you sure that you want to have sex?" Chloe asked intently.

Barely letting Chloe finish the question, Beca rushed out, "Yes! I do!"

A look of heavy skepticism marred Chloe's features and Beca knew she had to explain herself.

"Chlo… I do, I do want to be with you like that. More than just about anything," Beca paused as Chloe gazed at her with adoration. With a deep breath, Beca continued, "It's just that I… I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never been with another girl. It was only ever Jesse, and that was – I don't know – fine, but like, this is so much more," Beca smiled sincerely. "You are _so_ much more. I love you, a lot, and I don't wanna mess this up. I don't know what I'm doing, but you've probably had such great experiences with all these other girls and there's no way – I don't think I can live up to that and I don't want to disappoint you. That's why I was so nervous earlier. Not because I don't want to do this with you, but because I'm scared to disappoint you," she finished sincerely, willing Chloe to understand.

Beca knew her vulnerability was written across her face, and Chloe must have seen it; she smiled gently at her, again looking at Beca like she was the most important person in the world.

Tucking a strand of hair behind Beca's ear, Chloe said carefully, "Hey. You would never disappoint me." She hesitated as if weighing her words in her mind so that she would convey everything to Beca in the right way.

"Believe it or not," she continued, "I don't have a whole lot of experience either, and especially not with 'all those other girls,'" she used her hands to make air quotes, making Beca smile. "I've only ever kissed one other girl, and we never had sex. I'm just as new to this whole thing as you are. I'm learning, too."

Beca's eyebrows raised as she took in the new information. She muttered, "Sorry, I just assumed."

Chloe laughed and grabbed Beca's shoulders to pull the brunette playfully to her with a hushed, "You know what they say about assuming!"

With a smirk at the use of her own words, Beca settled sideways along the end of the pull-out bed, resting her head in Chloe's lap.

As she absentmindedly ran fingers through brown locks, Chloe said, looking down at Beca, "Anyway, my point is… there's no possibility that I could ever be disappointed by sex with you. Just knowing that it's _you_ I'm with would be perfection. To be honest, I'm still in shocked that you're in love with me! I'm really not ready for us to sleep together, either. It's already been a big day."

"Yeah… today was… the best day," Beca replied thoughtfully, her voice full of emotion.

"Exactly!" enthused Chloe. "Besides, if your kissing is representative of your other skills, I don't think we have anything to worry about," she added with a wink.

Rather than being flustered as Chloe had expected, Beca merely smirked up at her and replied cheekily, "What can I say? I have skills. Try to keep up, Chlo."

Chloe gasped, pretending to be affronted. "Beca Mitchell! I'll have you know that I'm perfectly capable in that department!"

Beca's mouth twisted and she scrunched up her nose as she pretended to think for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're pretty okay yourself. I might need a refresher, though, just to double-check?"

Without any hesitation, Chloe leaned down as Beca propped herself up and their lips met in the middle. It was a little awkward because of the difference in angle, but it still felt perfect. There was no doubt in Beca's mind as Chloe's perfect lips moved against hers – they belonged together, completely. She'd never felt this kind of connection before.

Chloe was forced to end the kiss sooner than she would like when her neck started to cramp from leaning over.

"Hmm, that's pretty great," Beca said as her eyes fluttered open. Chloe hummed in agreement, massaging the back of her neck.

Beca's eyes flicked away for a moment, then returned to Chloe's face. "So…" she started. "What do you think?"

Knowing immediately what she was getting at, Chloe responded, "I don't think either of us is quite ready for sex just yet. As far as I'm concerned, we have the time to wait."

Beca felt the tension completely leave her chest and she sat up to face Chloe, crossing her legs in front of her. Chloe turned to mirror her body language and they sat cross-legged looking at each other.

"Okay. I want to, eventually, though. How's that?" Beca asked.

"Yes. Eventually," Chloe replied simply. "We'll get there. We'll talk through it. But not tonight."

Blowing a puff of air from her cheeks dramatically and running the back of a hand over her brow, Beca huffed out, "Thank God!"

Chloe snorted at the theatrics, though she could tell Beca was truly relieved by how the night had turned out. Unable to resist some teasing, Chloe countered, "Okay, excuse me, it wouldn't have been _that_ bad." Beca laughed at that, so full and loud that Chloe couldn't resist joining in.

 _So this is how it's supposed to be,_ Beca thought as she watched Chloe laugh with her. _When you're with the right person, these things work out._

Once their laughter finally faded, Beca smiled at Chloe and told her, "You're my person."

Chloe's face lit up with pure joy as she responded, "You're my person, too."

With a fierce surge of happiness, Beca lunged forward to latch her lips to Chloe's, her hands on either side of her face. This kiss was different from the ones they'd shared throughout the evening; it was more desperate, more needy. Beca took a chance and gently snared Chloe's bottom lip between her teeth and gave a light tug before releasing it. She was rewarded with a surprised but pleased hum from the back of Chloe's throat. Spurred on, Beca lightly traced the tip of her tongue over Chloe's lip. Without hesitation, Chloe granted her access and their tongues met for the first time as Beca flicked hers into Chloe's mouth. This time, Chloe emitted a rougher groan and Beca found herself being guided down so that they were both lying on their sides on the bed.

She waited for awkwardness to set in, but it never did. Chloe changed the angle of their mouths before they continued. Beca started to feel the strings of rationality starting to sever as Chloe took control of the kiss and licked into Beca's mouth. Chloe's lips felt increasingly warm against hers and before long, she started to feel light-headed from the sensation and the lack of air.

That stopped being a problem, however, when Chloe suddenly detached their lips with a somewhat embarrassing smacking noise to instead trail kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Beca's eyes fluttered, and this time she was the one to make a small whimper. This seemed to encourage Chloe, who slid one hand under the still unbuttoned flannel Beca was wearing. Her fingers met Beca's stomach, then slid over her side to caress her lower back. Where she touched left a trail of fire on Beca's skin and Beca's hands moved without her permission, one tangling into Chloe's hair and the other moving to her hip. Chloe's kisses had made their way down to Beca's collarbone, and, after a brief hesitation, Chloe flattened her tongue on Beca's neck and dragged it upward.

Something snapped in Beca. She let out a low moan and the hand on Chloe's hip tightened to pull them closer together. Beca tangled their legs, one of Chloe's in between hers and one of hers in between Chloe's as their lips met again. They both began breathing hard through their noses and in between kisses as the air around them heated. Beca's lower stomach tightened and her heart was going crazy.

Experimentally, Beca rocked forward once gently, only to feel Chloe respond with a press of her own. Never one to back down from a challenge, Beca rocked forward harder, pressing her hips into Chloe's leg and… oh. _Oh_. Chloe reciprocated immediately, practically grinding into Beca's leg. Beca's hips shunted forward of their own volition and they both groaned at the contact.

Suddenly, Beca felt Chloe stiffen in her arms before flinging herself backward and away from Beca so there was more than a foot of space between them.

Beca's eyes flew open and she rushed out automatically, "I'm so sorry!" as she took in Chloe's swollen lips, messy hair, and darkened eyes.

Panting, Chloe held out a hand to reassure Beca. "No, it's totally fine, there's nothing wrong. In fact, that was… that was pretty amazing." She took a breath to steady herself and Beca smirked, pleased at the effect she'd elicited. "It's just – we should stop, or I'm not going to want to stop."

Relaxing to lie on her back, Beca gazed at the ceiling and tried to slow her own heart rate. "You're right," she said. "But also… that was awesome. You know what?" she asked, turning her head to look at Chloe, who raised a questioning eyebrow. "I changed my mind. Let's just do it now."

Chloe gaped at her for a moment before Beca broke and started laughing. Chloe swatted at Beca before joining in on her laughter. By the time they calmed, they were lying on their backs next to each other, wiping their eyes from laughing so much.

Once they had settled, Chloe looked affectionately at Beca and said, "Come on, Horn Dog. Let's watch some Netflix."

"Sounds good, dude," Beca replied, sitting up. "I'm gonna need a cold shower first, though," she added.

As Chloe moved to grab her laptop from the counter so they could watch their show in bed, she smiled suggestively at Beca and practically purred, "Mmmm… I'll probably join you in there…"

Beca's face warmed and she spluttered incoherently while Chloe threw back her head with another laugh.

"That's – that'd ruin the whole point –" Beca finally choked out.

Chloe merely smiled at how flustered the brunette had become and quickly leaned in to place a peck on the tip of her nose as she climbed back into their bed, precariously balancing her laptop.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked, patting the spot beside her. "I will watch Riverdale without you."

With an indignant huff, Beca shot back, "Don't you dare!" and practically threw herself onto her spot on their bed to settle in place for their show.

As Chloe was turning on her laptop, Beca reminded Chloe, "So, you wanted to have some sort of adult conversation?"

"Oh yeah!" Chloe said, turning to Beca. "Um, Beca?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Duh."

"Well, that's settled then," replied Chloe. "Good talk."

Beca nodded once and said, "You know, I like this adult thing. We're so good at it."

"Sure," hummed Chloe, who was focused on getting their show ready, "Now come here."

As she leaned into Chloe, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders to draw Beca even closer into her side, Beca couldn't remember when she'd last felt so at peace.

Chloe must have sensed her mood, because she turned to press a kiss to Beca's temple and whispered, "Even just this is pretty perfect to me, Bec."

Beca hummed in agreement and rested her head against Chloe's shoulder, feeling Chloe's hand rub soothingly up and down her arm. Chloe was right; this really was perfection in itself. This was all she wanted.

For now.


	8. Spooning Looks Easier in the Movies

**Takes place the same night as "Expectations," continues the series.**

 **Sure, they'd decided to wait before getting really intimate together in their new relationship. That doesn't keep Beca from being a little awkward about sharing the bed for the first time since they've told each other about their feelings.**

* * *

 **Spooning Looks Easier in the Movies**

Sharing a bed with Chloe was nothing new, obviously. But what was new was their relationship status. Even though she was much more relaxed than she had been earlier, when she'd thought Chloe had expected them to have sex (until they'd agreed to wait until they were both ready and their relationship was more than hours-old), Beca's stomach still knotted a little as she thought about sharing the bed with her now-girlfriend.

 _Girlfriend_. She loved that word.

"So, uh, you ready for me to turn off the light?" she asked Chloe, who was already in bed, leaned against the headboard.

Chloe nodded at her and scooted down in the bed to lie on her back. Beca watched as she picked up her phone and started to scroll through one of her many forms of social media. Smiling at the familiar sight, Beca reached over to flick off the main light switch to the apartment, leaving the room lit only by her bedside lamp and Chloe's phone screen. She climbed into her side of the bed and reached to turn off her lamp, plunging the apartment into semi-darkness which was broken only by the glow of Chloe's phone and the small amount of streetlight let into the room by the window curtains.

After a minute, Chloe's phone screen turned off and Beca felt her move to place the device on her side table. The two lay in the quiet for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Beca felt both utterly exhausted and wide awake, her mind whirring at a million miles per hour.

They loved each other. They were in love. It still astounded her, hours after they'd revealed it to one another.

She waited for Chloe to move to her. She knew how much Chloe loved to cuddle, but it was typically something that happened overnight while she slept. She usually woke up with Chloe curled into her, Chloe's front against her back, and Chloe's arms wrapped around her, their legs tangled. She'd never have admitted it before they'd gotten together, but it was her favorite way to wake up. And every morning like clockwork, a few minutes before her alarm was set to go off, Beca would feel Chloe gently untangle herself and give Beca space. They had never talked about it, but Beca had always wondered why Chloe moved herself away before it was time for her to get up.

Beca could tell by the sound of Chloe's breathing that she hadn't fallen asleep yet, likely still thinking about all they'd said to each other earlier in the day.

"So…" she said, glad that Amy was gone for the night so they could talk.

"Hmm?" responded Chloe.

"It was a good day, huh?"

"It was… one of the best days of my life, Beca."

"Mine too," Beca semi-whispered.

They fell silent again. Beca wondered why Chloe hadn't moved to cuddle her yet. She supposed it was possible that Chloe was still giving her space, not wanting her to feel suffocated or rushed into anything after they'd already agreed it wasn't time for them to have sex.

She knew she'd have to make the first move to break the ice. She rolled to her side, facing Chloe, and she felt Chloe do the same, facing her. She reached to touch Chloe's face and gently guided her in for a soft, slow kiss. It wasn't going to lead anywhere, but she couldn't have slept without kissing Chloe first, since she could finally kiss her pretty much whenever she wanted.

"That's really nice," Chloe whispered into the darkness when they separated.

"It is," Beca sighed happily. She didn't think she'd ever get used to how kissing Chloe made her feel. "I really love you, you know."

She could feel the happiness radiating from Chloe from across the bed. "I love you, too," Chloe replied, the smile clear in her voice.

Warmth filled Beca's chest. She'd finally found her home with Chloe, and she wanted Chloe to feel that same security with her.

She reached out to poke Chloe on the shoulder and quietly whispered, "Turn."

A beat of confused silence, then Chloe whispered back, "What?"

Beca rolled her eyes even though she knew Chloe couldn't really see her. "Um, like. On your side. Face away from me?"

Another beat, then movement as Chloe turned away from Beca and settled on her side. Beca paused. Now what? She wasn't used to being the big spoon. She pursed her lips in concentration and scooted herself toward Chloe at the exact moment Chloe started to shuffle backwards into her. Beca yelped and drew away, narrowly avoiding smashing her face into the back of Chloe's head. Chloe froze immediately with a hushed, "Sorry."

"It's okay," Beca breathed out. She felt immensely awkward and briefly considered calling the whole thing off until she remembered that cuddling in bed is basically a requirement when dating, especially if one is dating Chloe Beale. "You get comfy and I'll go to you, or whatever."

Chloe fidgeted a little more, moving closer to the center of the bed. She reached for Beca's pillow rather than her own and rested her head on the far edge of it, making sure to leave room for Beca. Once her movements stilled, Beca figured it was her turn.

She scooted ungracefully closer to Chloe and got a weird sensation in the pit of her stomach as she aligned the front of her hips with the back of Chloe's. She slid her legs to rest against and tangle with Chloe's. She then moved to lay her upper body against the bed. After some contemplation over what to do with the arm against the bed, she settled for tucking it in against her chest, crooked at the elbow. It was uncomfortable, and Chloe must have sensed it.

"Here," Chloe said, and lifted her head to allow Beca to stretch out her arm completely under the pillow and her head. It was much more comfortable, and Beca noticed that it allowed her to scoot right against Chloe.

She finally lay down completely, her front flush against Chloe's back. Because of their slight height difference, her face ended up just below the dip of Chloe's shoulder, giving her perfect room for air. After moving some of Chloe's hair out of the way with her free hand, she paused yet again before she remembered what to do with that arm. Beca heard and felt Chloe's breath hitch as she placed her arm around Chloe's waist, fingers resting lightly against her stomach. Chloe moved her own arm to rest her hand over Beca's, tangling their fingers together.

Chloe hummed, content. Beca figured she'd just signed up for falling asleep like this every night for the rest of forever when Chloe practically melted into her, and Beca knew she was smiling even if she couldn't see her face. Beca also relaxed into the contact, unable to remember the last time she'd felt so comfortable.

Beca pressed a kiss to Chloe's shoulder, and the knowledge that she was free to act on all her little loving impulses made her feel as though a balloon of happiness was swelling in her chest. She was holding her entire world between her arms in the shape of Chloe Beale.

Gah. When did she get all wishy-washy?

"Don't tell the others I'm such a sap, okay?" Beca said. "I've still got my badass reputation to keep."

She was rewarded with a laugh and she smiled into Chloe's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Bec," Chloe whispered. "Your secret is safe with me."

They were silent after that, and soon Beca felt herself start to drift off to sleep. But, despite her tiredness, she forced herself to stay awake until she felt Chloe's breathing even out. Once she knew for sure that Chloe had fallen asleep first, Beca finally let herself relax and was asleep within seconds.

She dreamed of Chloe.

The first sensation Beca registered in the morning was one of supreme discomfort. Before she even opened her eyes, she knew her arm would have to be amputated. At least, that's what it felt like; her shoulder ached, her arm was full of needles, and her fingers were throbbing with numbness (how is that even possible?).

She also felt like she was being choked and suffocated by vanilla-flavored strings in her mouth and over her nose. Finally, and perhaps most disconcertingly, she was positively boiling – to the point where she had sweat lightly coating her back and, for some reason, dripping down the front of her neck.

She tried to change to a more comfortable position, only to be stopped by what felt like steel cables wrapped around her waist. Beca's eyes flew open in surprise only to be assaulted by light streaming into their apartment. After adjusting to the sun, she realized that the source of her discomfort was the woman in bed with her.

At some point during the night, Chloe had turned to face Beca and had cuddled into her completely. Beca's arm was still trapped under Chloe's body and had clearly had its blood supply cut entirely off by both the weight pressing on it and the awkward angle Beca's shoulder had been forced into. Chloe's face was buried in Beca's neck, forehead under her chin, and Chloe's hair filled Beca's mouth and covered her nose. Finally, Chloe was latched onto Beca like a koala with a death grip; their closeness and the warm spring air had overheated Beca, explaining her sweaty state.

Beca frowned a little, still confused about the excess sweat on her neck. _Whose neck drips like that?_ Then her eyes went wide with horror; she remembered that Chloe tended to drool in her sleep, and with their current position, that drool would end up… Oh God.

Part of Beca wanted to fling herself away from Chloe, to escape the circulation-restricting, hairy mass of drooling body heat that was their current position. But another, larger part of Beca registered that despite the physical discomfort, she felt completely content. One of her arms was pinned under Chloe painfully, but the other was still resting loosely over her waist to trail her fingers over her lower back. Their legs were tangled, one of Beca's in between Chloe's at the knee. Chloe had both arms cinched securely around Beca's middle, one under the dip in her waist and the other over her ribs. Chloe's breath ghosted over her collarbone in regular little puffs.

Yep, that was definitely drool on her neck.

She couldn't bring herself to care.

She'd become so used to sharing a bed with Chloe that when Chloe had flown to visit her parents in Florida one weekend, Beca hadn't been able to sleep without someone by her side. And, now that they were in a relationship, Beca couldn't contemplate a future without sharing a bed.

Beca was utterly at peace in Chloe's arms. For the first time, Chloe hadn't moved away before she'd fully woke up. It was nice. It felt right. Beca knew, if given the choice, she would wake up tangled with Chloe every day.

Chloe broke Beca from her thoughts by suddenly releasing a huge and unattractive snort that was immediately following by a slurping noise; time for Sleeping Beauty to wake up. Beca couldn't hold back her laughter, and the noise of it as well as the movement of her shaking shoulders woke Chloe fully.

Chloe leaned back slightly, extracting the hair from Beca's mouth and nose. "Mmmm… Bec?" Her bright blue eyes blinked open still fuzzy from sleep.

"Hey there, sunshine," Beca teased gently, "Comfy?"

Chloe furrowed her brows, confused. Then, she looked down at their bodies and registered their proximity. When her eyes flashed back to Beca's face, panic graced her features. However, her expression cleared almost instantly, and Beca knew she'd remembered their new relationship.

With a pout and widened eyes, Chloe whispered, "Are you saying you want me to move?"

Beca only smiled; she had never been able to refuse Chloe. "Not really."

"Good. I wasn't going to," Chloe positively beamed back.

Beca heaved a dramatic sigh and said, "At least let me move my arm and wipe your nasty drool off my neck."

Chloe clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes, looking offended. "I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted. Beca just raised her eyebrows and stared, and after a moment Chloe's face fell and she had the good grace to look slightly guilty, even as she replied, "I don't drool. You must have done that yourself."

Beca rolled her eyes and temporarily retrieved her left arm from around Chloe's waist to wipe the spit from her neck using the bedsheet. She also wiggled her right arm around when Chloe lifted herself to release the limb. Beca hissed through her teeth as the blood zoomed back to her fingers. After a moment, the ache disappeared and she moved her arm back under the shared pillow, where it would be more comfortable. Chloe resettled and burrowed impossibly closer Beca as Beca reattached her left arm around her waist.

They remained like that in silence for several minutes, and Beca was just starting to doze off again when Chloe jerked in her arms, moving away. "Beca! You're late for work!" Chloe said loudly, her eyes wide as she started to shove the brunette out of the bed. "Go! Get ready!"

Beca landed on the floor with a thud and a squeak of surprised outrage. Luckily, she had dragged the bedsheets with her, cushioning her landing and, by some miracle, she'd avoided smacking her head on her nightstand.

There was a flurry of movement from the bed, and Beca looked up from the floor to see Chloe staring down at her. "Beca Mitchell, you have _work_!" Chloe insisted, adamant.

Beca groaned in response as she let her head fall back against the floor. Her eyes slid closed as she whined, "Dude, I took off today. You didn't let me tell you before dumping my ass on the floor."

There was a beat, then Beca's eyes flew open at the sound of an extremely high-pitch squeal. Chloe was beside herself with delight. "You took the day off! When?!"

Beca smiled at her girlfriend's excitement as she told her, "I emailed work last night and told them I had a family emergency."

Chloe's face softened, and she asked, "You count me as family?"

Beca rolled her eyes and shot back, "Come on, really? We are literally each other's emergency contacts for everything. Also, we're dating now. Don't make it weird."

The smile on Chloe's face grew impossibly wider. She reached a hand down to Beca, who grabbed it and pulled herself up to crawl back onto the bed, where they sat facing each other. Chloe absentmindedly began to play with Beca's fingers as she started to plan their day together.

"That's aca-awesome, we can bake cookies and go to the park and cuddle more and –" she stopped suddenly and clapped her free hand over her eyes, groaning.

Concerned, Beca asked, "What is it?"

Chloe shook her head slowly and sighed. "I forgot… I still have my internship this afternoon. I definitely can't flake, there's going to be a training session on cattle palpating." She looked absolutely devastated.

Nose wrinkled at the alarming information, Beca wanted nothing more than to get the smile back on Chloe's face. She made a quick decision.

"You know what…" she started slowly, "Why don't I just take the whole rest of the week off, yeah? Do you think you can the week off from your internship?"

Chloe looked at Beca like she'd put the stars in the sky. "I'm sure I can! Today was really the only big thing, and if they don't like it, I'll copy you and tell them it's a family emergency."

Beca nodded back once. "Good," she said, pleased to have made Chloe happy again.

"And, until you have to get ready for work…" Beca trailed off as she guided them both down to lay on the bed and scooted herself into Chloe, "We can stay right here."

"Fine with me," Chloe said, pressing a kiss to Beca's lips.

Beca sighed happy, wiggling even closer.

Yeah. There was nowhere she'd rather be.


	9. Reality

**Continuing the series, this takes place following the establishment of Bechloe's relationship. They are growing as a couple and preparing for their "First Time." Smut warning, but more in a making love way than anything else.**

* * *

 **Reality**

 **Beca's POV**

"Well, it's about time the little goblin pulled her head out of her ass."

"Aubrey!" Chloe reprimanded.

"No, it's okay," said Beca nonchalantly. "I deserved that one. It did take me way too long."

Aubrey nodded, "See? She agrees with me."

Chloe covered her eyes with both hands and replied, "Okay, but you didn't have to call her a goblin."

Beca grimaced and said, "Yeah, that was a little low, especially since it's over Skype where I can't punch you."

"What, and go back to jail for assault?" Aubrey fired back. "That's a great way to kick off your relationship with my best friend."

"Oh my God, it was one time!" Beca replied indignantly before Chloe made a shushing noise, halting their argument before it could truly begin.

"The _point_ is," she said, giving her laptop's webcam (and therefore Aubrey) a hard stare, "Beca and I are together now, and we thought we'd start telling people."

"Don't listen to Bree," came Stacie's voice from off camera. "We're both very excited for you!"

Beca leaned closer to the laptop resting between her and Chloe on their bed as if trying to get a better view of Aubrey and Stacie at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves. "Thanks, Stace!" she practically shouted, making Aubrey wince. "But where are you?"

"Beca!" Chloe reprimanded lightly, tugging on the back of Beca's shirt to draw her away from the laptop.

With a laugh, Stacie came on screen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "It's okay, I'm right here! Seriously, congrats you two. It's been a long time coming."

Aubrey nodded distractedly; she hadn't taken her eyes off Stacie since she'd walked over.

"Yeah," replied Chloe dreamily as she turned to stare at Beca. "It has. We couldn't be happier."

Beca smiled back at her girlfriend, warmth filling her chest at the adoration in Chloe's gaze. She didn't think she'd ever get used to seeing how much Chloe loved her. They'd only been together for a couple of days, but she'd been so happy it was almost gross. Sure, there had been a big misunderstanding at the start, but now… everything was absolutely perfect.

"Um… we're still here!" came Aubrey's impatient voice.

Beca tore her eyes away from Chloe, refusing to be embarrassed about their lapse in attention. "Yeah, well," she fired back at Aubrey, "I noticed that you two seem awfully friendly. Care to share something with the class?"

Beside her, she heard Chloe stifle a giggle as Aubrey's face immediately became an impassive mask and Stacie looked toward the ceiling in an effort to hide her face.

"Oh, it's –" Stacie began at the exact time Aubrey said, "She was in –"

There was an awkward pause while they looked at one another. Beca's grin grew into one of wicked triumph while Chloe merely watched on as if viewing her favorite TV drama.

Aubrey cleared her throat, then continued. "Stacie was in town, so I invited her to stay here instead of having to pay for a hotel."

Stacie nodded enthusiastically.

"Riiigghhttt," Beca drew out, "So you're saying –"

"Beca," Chloe interrupted, "what they do is their business until they decide to make it ours."

With a sigh and a regretful stare at the laptop screen, Beca replied, "Fine. Anything you say, dear."

Chloe, Stacie, and Aubrey all had to laugh at Beca's dramatics.

"Man, Chloe," said Stacie, "you've got her wrapped around your finger."

"Well… not yet," said Beca, earning herself a swat on the arm from Chloe.

Aubrey threw her hands over her years and yelled, "No! I don't want to hear it!" while Stacie tipped her head back with a laugh. Beca smirked and winked at Chloe, enjoying the sight of the light blush that had taken over her cheeks.

"Anyway," Chloe said pointedly, "they don't have to tell us anything they don't want to."

Beca opened her mouth to complain, but at that moment, the buzzer to their apartment sounded, startling them both.

Sighing, Chloe stood from the bed and said reluctantly, "I'll get it. I bet it's the package I ordered."

"Don't leave me with Aubrey," Beca pleaded, once again making Aubrey scoff and Stacie laugh.

"It'll be quick, babe, I promise!" said Chloe, already moving to leave the apartment.

As soon as the door had swung shut behind her, Beca watched as on her laptop screen, Aubrey turned to whisper something in Stacie's ear. Stacie's eyes widened and she stood up with a "Good luck, Beca!" before hurrying away out of sight.

"What was that about?" asked Beca, bemused.

"Nothing major," Aubrey replied easily. "I only asked her to leave so I can give you the talk."

Rolling her eyes, Beca responded, "Thanks, but I already know about the birds and the bees, and I'm not sure that applies here anyway, so…"

Aubrey threw her a withering glare and said, "No, Beca, not that. The best friend talk."

When Beca continued to look confused, Aubrey sighed impatiently and continued, "The if-you-hurt-her-I-swear-to-god-I-will-hunt-you-down-and-make-you-regret-the-day-you-were-born talk."

Beca's eyes widened. "Oh!" she said. "Right. Well, you don't have to worry about that. I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," said Aubrey forcefully. "Chloe is the nicest person I know, and you've already put her through years of pain. If you so much as look at anyone else or do anything to hurt her, you will pay for it. Chloe may be my best friend, but my shotgun is my soulmate."

"Calm down, Rambo," Beca said, trying to hide how freaked out she really was. "I was a blind idiot before, but I swear, I love Chloe more than anything or anyone on Earth. She's my everything, and I'd die before I hurt her."

"Yes. You would," replied Aubrey before staring at her intently. After a few seconds of that, Beca awkwardly shifted in place. Was she supposed to respond to that, or…?

Finally, Aubrey nodded, apparently satisfied. "I believe you. And, of course, if you need any advice on your relationship you can come to me."

Beca nodded vaguely, privately thinking that she'd rather put her head in the oven before admitting weakness to Aubrey. She was saved from having to reply by Chloe's reentry into the apartment.

"I'm back!" Chloe called, placing the small, unmarked box on the counter before jumping back to her spot on their bed. "Did I miss anything?"

"Well –" Beca began.

"Nothing major," supplied Aubrey hastily. "Stacie just had to use the bathroom, but she should be back soon."

"Great!" enthused Chloe. "I'm glad we're doing this, it's so nice to see you both!"

"Hmm," mused Beca. Then, seeing the dangerous glint in Aubrey's eyes even through Skype, she decided to take the conversation a different direction. "What's in the box?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Oh, nothing major," replied Chloe with a wave of her hand. "Just a little outfit for myself."

However, Beca noticed that a light pink tinge had appeared in her cheeks. Unable to resist teasing, she said, "Oh, really? So, do you want to try it on and show us?"

"Oh, uh, that's really not necessary," rushed Chloe, cheeks growing steadily redder.

"Everything okay there, Chlo?" asked Beca, her grin widening. "You're looking a little –"

"Stacie!" squealed Chloe loudly. "We missed you!"

Beca turned back to the laptop and saw Stacie had indeed resumed her place next to Aubrey. "Yep," Stacie said, "I'm back. Now before you two get all cutesy again, I have to ask; how exactly did it all happen?"

Beca's expression softened and a content smile grew over her face, completely sidetracked from her teasing. She loved telling the story of when she'd realized she was in love with Chloe. With a quick glance at Chloe to make sure it was okay, she began. "Okay, so, we were walking in Central Park and there was this caterpillar…"

As Beca told their story to Aubrey and Stacie, she felt her right hand become encased in Chloe's left and butterflies – the good kind – flitted around in her stomach. She was still in awe that Chloe could love her as completely as she loved Chloe. She already knew that what they had was a forever type of deal, and as she paused in her story to look into beautiful blue eyes, she knew that Chloe felt the same.

They stayed on Skype with Aubrey and Stacie for nearly another hour, getting caught up on new developments in each other's lives. Beca actually enjoyed talking to Aubrey; somehow, over the course of several years, they'd managed to become friends. Beca figured it was all because of the redhead seated next to her.

* * *

Beca and Chloe decided to share the news of their new relationship with friends and family over the next few weeks, preferring to do it in person or over Skype when possible. After Aubrey and Stacie, the next person they told was Amy upon her return from vacation at "not Bumper's." She'd been thrilled with the news and had shouted "Viva la Bhloe!" before adding a stern, "No sex while I'm in the house," and going to play on her phone.

They'd wanted to surprise the other Bellas with the news as well; however, it seemed that after they told Amy, the rest of the Bellas already knew, though they all did their best to act surprised when Beca and Chloe finally did tell them. Beca suspected foul play in the form of a hidden group chat, but Chloe told her she was being paranoid.

Nevertheless, the Bellas were beyond ecstatic. Emily had squealed so loudly over the phone that Beca had worried for her speaker; they had met Flo in person, and she had been perhaps the worst at feigning her surprise, but assured them that she was incredibly happy for them; over Skype, Cynthia-Rose had merely said, "Tell me something I don't know," and then had immediately yelled for Amy to pay up her $40; they almost forgot to tell Ashley and Jessica, but were able to Skype the pair of them before too much time had passed. They never managed to reach Lilly, but received a congratulatory card from her in the mail even before they had told Aubrey and Stacie over Skype.

Their families were also pleased with the news. Chloe's parents were thrilled and insisted that she and Beca visit them as soon as reasonably possible. The thought of that future interaction made Beca pause; what if they didn't think she was good enough for their daughter? But Chloe was quick to sense Beca's nerves and easily put her mind at peace. She said that if Beca made her happy, that would be good enough for her parents.

Beca's family struggled slightly more with the news, though her father and Sheila did their best to be supportive. Warren Mitchell, though by no means conservative, was surprised to hear that Beca was even attracted to women; it seemed she'd never managed to come out as bisexual to him or Sheila, so they needed a moment to absorb the amount of new information. However, once they'd had a few days, Beca got a text from them expressing their congratulations. They'd always liked Chloe and had largely credited her with Beca's happiness at Barden.

The person Beca had been most anxious to tell was Jesse. Though their friendship had strengthened over the months since their breakup, she'd worried about his reaction. She'd put it off as long as she could, until Chloe finally had to step in. "He'd rather hear it from you, Bec," she'd said. "I think he'll be more okay with it than you're imagining." So, wondering if Chloe somehow knew more about Jesse's feelings than she did, Beca had found the courage to call him one evening and share the news. To her pleasant surprise, he'd been incredibly happy for her.

"I'm glad you've found this with her," Jesse had said over the phone. "Really, Beca. I know how happy she makes you, and that means the world to me." He'd also asked to talk to Chloe briefly, which had taken her aback. Their conversation had been relatively short, and when Beca had asked about it later, Chloe merely said that he gave her the best friend talk. Beca again wondered if Chloe knew something she didn't, but wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

* * *

Before Beca knew it, she and Chloe had been together for just over a month. It had easily been the happiest month of her life. Chloe's warmth and sunshine seemed to cast a glow over everything else. Beca found that little daily annoyances that used to build up no longer bothered her as much. She found herself smiling and laughing at simple things, and every text she got from Chloe while she was at work filled her heart with joy. Even the colors surrounding her looked more vibrant, making her wonder how she'd ever navigated such a dark world before Chloe.

There was a small part of her mind still cautioning her to be careful; Chloe was so completely engrained in her life that if anything were to happen, if Chloe were to leave, Beca wouldn't recover. However, she couldn't bring herself to fear losing Chloe, not when every touch, every kiss, every whisper they shared only cemented for her that they were permanent. Being together felt effortless, as natural as laughter.

Beca had never really believed in soulmates; she didn't buy into the idea of there being some spiritual connection between people meant to be together. No, Chloe wasn't her soulmate. Chloe was simply her forever.

One result of Beca's newfound joy in life was that she no longer wanted to work such long hours, preferring to spend more time at home with Chloe. Unfortunately, her work load didn't change with her relationship status, so she typically found herself taking work home with her and spending a few hours in the evening on her laptop while Chloe read or watched her.

One evening, she was laboring over a particularly stubborn project. She'd been staring at her laptop for hours at their kitchen table, headphones on, tongue poking out from between her teeth in concentration. There was still something off about the piece, something that she didn't like, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"What are you working on?" Chloe's voice drifted over the sound of the music in her ears, but she was only half listening.

"Um…what, sorry?" asked Beca several seconds later, tugging her headphones off to look at Chloe, who'd been perched on their bed, reading.

Rather than being annoyed, Chloe sent her a bright and understanding smile. Beca knew she'd always loved to watch her work on mixes, but she couldn't see why. Surely, there were more interesting things to see than just her, gazing at a screen and playing with different settings?

"I asked what you're working on," repeated Chloe. "You're doing that thing with your tongue again."

"Oh," grinned Beca, "you know me too well. Um, it's just a song for work. The artist is new and has a lot of promise, but I'm having a hard time finding good balance on the sound."

Chloe hummed thoughtfully before standing up to move behind Beca. She bent down and wrapped her arms around her, resting her chin on Beca's shoulder to look at the laptop screen. Beca relaxed into her touch, leaning back into her and resting her temple against Chloe's. She felt the tension and stress leak away until all that was left was the solid presence at her back.

Pressing a kiss to Beca's cheek, Chloe said confidently, "You'll get there, Bec. I know it."

Beca smiled at Chloe's unwavering belief in her and replied gratefully, "I hope so. I really want to get it right. This artist deserves it – they haven't had it easy getting this far."

Chloe reached out to gently turn Beca's face toward her own. Once Beca was looking at her, she leaned in to kiss her soundly on the lips.

"What was that for?" asked Beca when Chloe pulled away again. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I love that you care so much about other people," Chloe responded. "It's one of the reasons I fell for you in the first place."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Beca, trying hard to ignore the blush she knew was rising in her cheeks. "I'm a badass. I don't care about other people."

Chloe's smile widened. "Your secret is safe with me."

Rolling her eyes, Beca scrunched up her nose as Chloe pulled away to sit on their bed again to watch her work. Beca put her headphones back on but left one ear free so she could hear Chloe if she said anything else. She continued to work on the song for several more minutes, only vaguely aware that Chloe was still watching her.

"I'm ready," Chloe said suddenly into the quiet.

"Hmm?" said Beca, turning her face to Chloe but leaving her eyes locked on her laptop. "Oh?"

Chloe took a deep breath, making Beca finally tear her gaze away from her screen to give Chloe her full attention. Chloe was looking down at her own lap, but then made eye contact with Beca, seemingly resolute about something.

"I'm ready," she said again. "For us to…you know…sleep together. I'm ready for us to take that step."

Beca's stomach knotted. She'd been thinking about being with Chloe in that way frequently over the last month, ever since they'd decided to wait on the first day of their relationship. Neither of them had been ready for sex then, but it seemed as though Chloe was ready now.

"Oh…" trailed off Beca, taken aback by the sudden proclamation. "Like. Right now? Or…"

She swallowed. She knew she wasn't quite on the same page as Chloe yet. Almost, but not yet. She was still too nervous about disappointing Chloe to feel really relaxed and ready.

Seeing her concern, Chloe quickly replied, "No, not now! You're busy. And you have to be ready too." Beca sighed, relieved, as Chloe continued. "No. And I'm not pressuring at all, I just wanted to let you know, so that whenever you're ready, we're in the same place. I will absolutely wait."

Beca watched her as she spoke, then they sat in silence. She needed time to absorb the information. _Chloe was really being wonderful about this,_ Beca thought. She didn't feel any kind of pressure to be ready soon. Chloe had only made it clear where she was at with everything, which helped Beca a lot. Beca had always needed extra time to think and prepare herself for big changes, and this next step in their relationship was no different. The fact that Chloe understood that about her and was this patient sent a sense of calm security through Beca's chest.

"Okay," Beca finally said. "Thanks for telling me. I'll, uh, keep you posted?"

Chloe nodded, beaming with her impossibly white smile. "Okay," she said. "Now get back to work. You have music to make." And with a final flirtatious wink that sent heat rising in Beca's neck, she returned to her book.

Beca turned to her laptop, not seeing the screen in front of her as she considered what Chloe had said. She'd been kicking herself for the past month over how nervous she'd been about the idea of sex when they'd first gotten together. At times, she'd felt guilty over making Chloe wait, but then Chloe would touch her arm or envelop her in a hug or give her a quick kiss on the lips and Beca would remind herself that they both hadn't been ready then. It would have been wrong to sleep together so soon. Now, though, Beca knew they were in a much better place. Chloe was ready, and Beca almost was. Thinking about sex with Chloe still made her nervous but had also started to make her feel excited.

The only thing holding her back was the doubt that she wouldn't be good enough. She wanted to give Chloe the best of everything, so the thought that their bedroom activities could be sub-par because of her was paralyzing.

"Beca," Chloe's serious tone ripped Beca from her dark thoughts. "Stop overthinking."

"I'm not –" Beca tried.

"Yes, you are. I know that look."

Beca smiled sheepishly at Chloe, who was looking at her with so much tenderness it was kind of unbelievable.

"There's no pressure," Chloe said. "Really. I could wait for years if you need me to. And in case you're scaring yourself again, don't. You are perfect. Nothing," Chloe shook her head, "and I mean nothing, will change that."

"I don't want to disappoint you," Beca whispered, unable to look away from Chloe's intense gaze.

Chloe's already open and loving expression softened even further into one of absolute adoration. "You literally can't," she said gently. "I've never been with a woman either. I've said it before, but I'll keep saying it until you believe me – knowing I'm with you is already amazing."

The tension left Beca's shoulders and she exhaled her anxiety in a big puff. Chloe always knew what to say. They complimented each other so completely that she knew it should be scary, but it wasn't. It only reinforced her sense of rightness.

Nodding, Beca responded, "I believe you. You're pretty perfect, too, you know."

With the smirk she'd picked up from Beca, Chloe fired back, "Yeah, I'm pretty confident about all this." And she gestured grandly down her body with a playful wink.

A smile spreading over her face at the memory, Beca said her usual line. "You should be."

The tension gone and her worry set at ease, Beca fully returned her focus to her work while Chloe resumed reading her book.

Beca knew she'd be ready soon. Just, not yet.

* * *

As it turned out, soon was about one week later. Beca came home from work earlier than her usual time to see Chloe alone at the stove, chopping vegetables likely meant for a waiting pan. The whole apartment smelled like Beca imagined Italy would smell, and she knew Chloe's signature lasagna must be in the oven. Chloe's cooking playlist (made for her by Beca) was reverberating through the apartment, transmitted by Beca's Bluetooth speaker. Amy wasn't home yet from her street performing job, and Beca wondered vaguely whether that night's routine had involved fire swallowing again.

Chloe turned to greet Beca with a "Hey, beautiful. You're home early."

Dropping her bag on the floor and hanging up her jacket, Beca replied, "Yeah, I was feeling spontaneous and I wanted to see you."

Her focus back on cutting up their veggies for dinner, Chloe answered, "Wow, Beca Mitchell making spontaneous decisions…that's new."

"I guess that's what you do to me, Beale," Beca said easily as she moved to stand behind Chloe, stretching to her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Chloe's waist and press a kiss to the side of her neck.

"Mmm, I like it," sighed Chloe as she turned her head so that Beca could kiss her on the lips.

"Me too," agreed Beca, resting her chin on top of Chloe's shoulder to watch her hands slide the chopped onions, broccoli, and carrots into a pre-warmed pan. The whole thing felt incredibly domestic, and Beca couldn't imagine anything better.

Chloe's cooking playlist changed to Dance with Me Tonight by Olly Murs, which Beca knew was one of Chloe's favorites. She started to sway her hips side to side in time with the beat, her hands guiding Chloe to the music along with her.

"Dance with me?" she said softly into Chloe's ear.

"But dinner…" said Chloe, sounding reluctant.

"Can wait," insisted Beca.

Chloe chuckled and relaxed into Beca's touch, allowing her to move her hips to the music. "You're such a bad influence." Nevertheless, she placed a lid on the vegetables so they would stay warm without her.

"Thanks," Beca replied with a grin, knowing she'd won. She turned Chloe around gently and tugged on her hips, pulling them flush against each other. Chloe squeaked in happy surprise, Beca delivering a peck to her lips.

"Dancing time," she said, moving her hands up to grab both of Chloe's.

Beca led them in a sort of jerky swing dance, moving back and forth, side to side as best they could in the minuscule kitchen. They took turns spinning each other, hair whirling. Chloe nearly backed her into their table once but quickly apologized with a glint in her eye that Beca had learned meant that she loved her, so Beca forgave her immediately. After Chloe spun her one final time, Beca brought their bodies close again and carefully dipped Chloe as the music reached its conclusion. The dip didn't really go with the song, but Beca couldn't care less. All that mattered was that the woman looking up at her from within her arms was laughing and it was all because of her.

The playlist switched to Adele's Make You Feel My Love, so Beca pulled Chloe back to standing and wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist, feeling Chloe's arms slide around her neck.

Their dancing changed automatically to slow, pivoting movements as they turned on the spot. Chloe looked stunning in that moment, all casual attire with her hair loose around her shoulders. Her eyes ensnared Beca's soul, and she felt herself falling even more deeply in love. Beca couldn't keep the smile off her face; she'd never imagined a life like this with the love of her life, and yet here she was. Unexpected, maybe, but she wouldn't change a single thing.

Beca moved further into Chloe, resting her cheek on a shoulder and turning her face into Chloe's neck, feeling Chloe's head tilt against the top of hers. Beca closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of Chloe's perfume. A wave of peace washed over her. Chloe was holding her securely, and she knew Chloe would never let go.

 _Finally_ , she thought.

It was Chloe. It had always been Chloe.

She felt safe in Chloe's arms. She felt loved. She felt at home.

She also felt a growing tension low in her stomach.

 _Oh_.

Beca's eyes flew open and she stared into a thicket of red hair. She wanted Chloe. She needed her. And Chloe wanted her, too.

She knew instantly what had changed. Her fear drained away. Her complete trust in Chloe had shifted the world; she was no longer afraid of messing up or disappointing Chloe, because she finally understood what Chloe had been telling her for weeks. Their greatest strength was their ability to support each other, laugh at their fumbling mistakes, and move on together.

Beca felt her fear slip away as the knowledge settled within her. Chloe had her. Chloe would never let her go.

The intimacy wasn't going to be perfectly executed, but it didn't matter. They would be together. They'd almost certainly fumble around, would almost certainly mess up once or twice, but they'd be able to laugh it off and try again. They were learning together. That's what their whole relationship had been about from the very beginning. It would be okay. With Chloe, everything would be okay.

She stopped their dancing and pulled away, keeping her hands on Chloe's waist. Blue eyes looked at her questioningly.

Beca only smiled softly and said, "I'm ready."

She knew that Chloe had immediately understood what she'd meant; her eyebrows shot up and her mouth opened slightly in surprise. The arms around Beca's neck tightened.

"Yeah?" came Chloe's response.

"Yeah," Beca nodded.

Chloe blinked rapidly, then said, "Are – are you sure?"

Beca nodded again.

"You're one hundred percent sure? It hasn't been that long yet, and –"

Beca surged forward and crashed her lips against Chloe's, cutting her off. It wasn't particularly graceful; their teeth clicked together before Chloe managed to reciprocate the kiss, but Beca didn't mind. She tried to pour everything she'd realized into the kiss, tried to convey how much Chloe meant to her and how very ready she was for the next step.

Needing to come up for air, Beca broke the kiss to look at Chloe, whose eyes fluttered open, cheeks already tinged pink.

"You're my everything," Beca said slowly. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life."

That was all Chloe needed to hear.

Hands slid from Beca's neck and into her hair, urging her forward to meet Chloe's lips. Chloe's tongue was immediately in her mouth, driving Beca wild. Chloe exhaled noisily through her nose, and Beca was overwhelmed with Chloe, Chloe everywhere.

She needed more.

A frustrated whimper escaped her throat, and Chloe must have understood. She was guided backwards blindly, stumbling but trusting Chloe to catch her, until her back hit their front door with a resonant thud.

Chloe's hands moved to her hips, pressing her there, holding her in place as she dropped to give attention to Beca's neck. Beca didn't remember moving her arms, but found them wrapped around Chloe's back, angled up so that her hands were on her shoulder blades. She needed to feel more, so she began smoothing her hands down and back up, trailing her fingers over the dips and curves of Chloe's spine, over her sides, and back up to run her nails lightly over Chloe's shoulders.

Chloe switched to the other side of her neck and pressed even closer, her hips jarring into Beca's. The temperature spiked and Beca's chest heaved at the intensity of Chloe's onslaught, not that she really minded. But she needed to taste Chloe's lips again, so Beca dropped her head forward and slid one hand to the back of Chloe's neck to angle her face upwards and once again their lips crashed together.

Beca took control this time, letting her tongue flick teasingly at Chloe's before pulling back. Chloe whimpered and Beca gave in, snaring Chloe's lower lip between her teeth, biting gently, and pulling back slightly before releasing it. Chloe shivered under her hands and released a gasp that sent desire shooting through Beca.

Her hands dropped to the small of Chloe's back, clutching, massaging, and Chloe again broke away to press open-mouthed kisses along her jaw and to her ear. Beca's eyes rolled back when Chloe flicked her earlobe with her tongue and then bit down on it delicately. Her hands dropped still further to Chloe's backside and she pulled Chloe to her, hips automatically bucking forward in search of contact.

She needed even more.

Chloe moved impossibly closer and slipped a thigh between Beca's, pressing forward. Beca's head fell back against the door with a thump and she moaned embarrassingly loudly. She vaguely wondered if their neighbors were in but stopped caring the instant Chloe's hands on her hips tugged her forward and onto her thigh. Again. And again.

Chloe's hips rolled into her own, matching her every thrust. Chloe gasped at one particularly forceful rock, her mouth still right next to Beca's ear. It was possibly the hottest moment of Beca's life and she heard herself growl.

In one smooth motion, Beca brought one hand up to grasp Chloe's arm and flipped their positions so she was the one pressing Chloe into the door. She lost some of the wonderful friction between her legs but knew it had been worth it when Chloe keened at the feel of Beca's tongue on her neck.

Beca resumed rolling her hips into Chloe's, feeling the tension low in her belly build. By the way Chloe's hands began clutching at her back and shoulders, she knew Chloe was getting there, too.

Automatically, Beca's left hand went down to the side of Chloe's right thigh, lifting it so Chloe could wrap her leg around her hips, drawing them even closer together. Beca pressed into Chloe, earning another groan before she swallowed it with her lips over Chloe's.

Chloe broke away after a moment, breathing raggedly, and choked out, "Bec."

Hearing her name fall from Chloe's lips like that sent Beca into overdrive, and she suddenly needed to try something. She'd do anything to get Chloe to say her name like that again. She reached behind herself to find Chloe's arms and moved them securely around her shoulders, wanting Chloe to latch onto her. She then dropped her right hand to rest on the outside of Chloe's left thigh and paused to look into Chloe's eyes, to make sure she understood.

"Hold on tight," she breathed, and Chloe nodded, her eyes dark and lips swollen.

She pressed Chloe firmly into the door, sliding her hands under Chloe's hips to support her weight as Chloe lifted her other leg off the ground to lock behind Beca's hips. Once Beca was sure they were stable and that she could hold Chloe, she stepped cautiously away from the door. Arms tightened around her neck and Chloe's chin moved to lock over Beca's shoulder as she turned away from the door, carrying Chloe.

She'd originally intended to take Chloe to the bed, but decided it was too early yet, so she veered instead to the small amount of counter space they did have in the apartment. By some miracle, she made it there without dropping Chloe, who was surprisingly light. She set Chloe down on the counter and moved her hands to the tops of her thighs as Chloe immediately started kissing her again, tangling her fingers in her hair to angle Beca's face up to her.

"That was so hot," Chloe breathed against Beca's lips, her legs still hooked around Beca.

Beca groaned and deepened the kiss.

She needed more.

It was becoming unbearably hot in the apartment. Beca desperately wanted to be wearing less. More than that, she wanted Chloe to be wearing less.

Her hands moved up Chloe's thighs and around to ghost under Chloe's shirt and she reveled in the soft, warm skin she discovered at Chloe's lower back. She felt goosebumps rise under her touch and Beca's fingers curled, digging slightly too hard into Chloe's skin. She knew she'd probably scratched her, but Chloe didn't seem to mind; her legs locked even more tightly around Beca, pulling her in and against her.

"Take it off," Chloe gasped out, sending a jolt through Beca and making her body ache.

Beca removed her hands from Chloe's back to brush at the hem of Chloe's shirt, only to change course and reach instead for her own shirt. Quick as a flash, she'd lifted it off over her head, making Chloe blink down at her in surprise.

"I thought it wouldn't be fair if only one of us had a shirt," Beca explained breathlessly before reaching for Chloe's.

"Can I?" she asked, even though Chloe had already said it was okay.

Chloe nodded and Beca lifted, marveling at every inch of taut abdomen revealed, Chloe helping by pulling the shirt off her head and casting it aside on the floor.

Beca couldn't help it; she stared at Chloe's chest, watching as her bra moved rapidly with each breath she took.

"They're just breasts, Beca," came Chloe's amused voice, though Beca noticed that her gaze was focused in on her chest as well.

"What can I say?" managed Beca cheekily. "I'm a boob-man."

Chloe laughed and reached for Beca's face, cupping her cheeks as they resumed kissing. Beca's skin burned where Chloe's almost naked upper body pressed into hers; she couldn't believe how it felt to move against Chloe like this, pressing and shifting. They fit together like puzzle pieces. Beca ran her fingertips up and down the expanse of Chloe's back, skipping over her bra clasp with each sweep.

Chloe's hands were doing the same behind her, her fingers tracing over the material of Beca's bra.

"Is it okay if I touch you?" Chloe broke away from the kiss to ask after a minute of exploring.

Beca almost died right there, feeling as though she was about to melt into a puddle. She wanted nothing more than for Chloe to touch her. She immediately replied, "Yes, go for it. Them."

Chloe snorted at her, eliciting a small smile from Beca they moved apart slightly.

Chloe's hands didn't leave her, but instead merely slid along the sides of her bra to hesitate at her ribs. Beca wondered if Chloe could feel how hard her heart was beating. Cerulean eyes flicked up to meet her own and Beca nodded. "It's okay," she said. "I trust you."

Biting her lip in concentration, Chloe's eyes focused back on Beca's chest and her right hand moved agonizingly slowly to lightly trace over Beca's left side. Beca's eyes fluttered at the sensation and she exhaled a huge rush of air, trying to gain some control over herself. Above her, Chloe also sighed, her hand moving to cover Beca entirely. She paused, allowing Beca to get used to the sensation.

After a moment, Chloe's other hand moved to touch Beca's other side, starting similarly with light touches before resting there. Beca watched Chloe's face, amazed that Chloe seemed to be enjoying this as much as she was. A furrow appeared between Chloe's eyebrows and Beca was momentarily concerned until Chloe ever so slightly squeezed.

Beca swore and arched forward into Chloe involuntarily, making her stop her movement immediately.

"Was that bad?" Chloe asked frantically.

"No!" Beca was quick to reassure her. "It was… really nice," she sighed shakily. "It's okay."

After a beat, Chloe's hands continued moving against her, fingers tracing over delicate areas, making fireworks explode in Beca's mind each time. She fought to control her breathing, fought to restrain her whimpers, but only to limited success. After another minute, she adjusted to the feel of Chloe's hands on her, and she was overcome with desire see what Chloe felt like.

With all her willpower (because she really didn't want Chloe to stop), she lifted her hands from Chloe's thighs to instead rest them on her wrists, halting Chloe instantly.

"Can I touch you, too?" she asked.

"Oh!" Chloe said, looking as though she'd forgotten that she might also benefit from such a thing. "Yeah, definitely," she said, removing her hands from Beca to rest them on the counter.

Beca's eyes dropped back to Chloe's chest, clad in her simple green bra. It really was enticing. She hesitantly lifted her left hand to brush her fingers against Chloe's right side, trying to replicate what Chloe had done for her. The reaction was immediate – Chloe drew in a huge gasp of air and her eyes widened almost comically.

With a smirk, Beca stopped to cover her breast, waiting for Chloe to get used to her presence there. She was floored by the enthralling feel of smooth material and the soft warmth it covered. Daringly, she gently squeezed then ran just her thumb over where she thought Chloe's peak would be.

Chloe's groan startled her, and she nearly jumped away but got a grip on herself at the last second. She looked up into blazing eyes watching her intently and swallowed hard. Not breaking eye contact, she repeated the motion and saw Chloe's eyes slam shut. She kept working and moving her hand until Chloe's eyes opened a crack to look at her.

"I do have two, you know," she said, her voice strained.

Oh. Yeah. That's right.

With an apologetic cringe, Beca wasted no time in raising her right hand to give Chloe's other side equal attention. Chloe's eyes slid closed again as she leaned into Beca, pressing into her hands so much that Beca was momentarily afraid that Chloe was going to topple off the counter and right onto her.

Chloe's hands snaked around Beca's back to trace over the strap and clasp on her bra. She hesitated, biting her lip, before she asked, "Is it… can I take this off you?"

Heat shot to Beca's center and she felt her knees quake. It was more than okay.

"Yes."

Chloe's hands reached for the clasp and Beca felt her grab at the material, preparing to tug the sides apart when –

 _EEEEEEEEEE!_

"Gah!" Chloe startled, lurching backward.

Beca jumped violently and stepped away from Chloe automatically only to slip on a discarded shirt on the tiled floor. As if in slow motion, she fell hard, landing on her elbow and hip.

"Ugh…" she rolled to her back to stare at the fire alarm on the ceiling, which was the source of the horrible screeching noise.

"The veggies!" cried Chloe, sliding off the counter and jumping around Beca to get to the smoking pan on the stove.

"I'll get the alarm," muttered Beca as she sat up painfully. She knew her elbow would have a lovely bruise on it by the morning, as would her hip. Standing up, she grabbed the morning's newspaper from the table and fanned it under the fire alarm to dissipate the smoke while Chloe took the pan off the burner and stirred its charred contents.

Before long, the electronic wailing turned off and Beca huffed out a sigh of relief. Setting the newspaper down again, she turned to see Chloe looking at her sheepishly, still without her shirt and holding the pan far away from her body.

After a beat of silence, Beca broke; she started grinning, then laughing, and before long, she and Chloe were doubled over with laughter, because _of course_ something like this would happen.

Finally calming, Beca straightened up and wiped at her eyes. "So… where were we?" she asked Chloe, valiantly trying to get them back on track.

"Um, I think we have to call it for now," Chloe said with a small smile.

"The fire's out, though," Beca pointed out. "Well. The one on the stove. The one between us, however…" she trailed off suggestively.

Chloe pointed to the oven, ignoring Beca's lame flirtation, "But the lasagna's done too, I bet."

Sure enough, the timer on Chloe's phone beeped at that moment. Chloe grimaced at Beca apologetically and opened the oven, pulling out a perfect lasagna.

Beca sighed and hung her head in defeat. They'd been so close… she really hadn't wanted to stop… in fact, she'd been desperate to keep going.

"Besides, Amy will be back soon, so maybe it's a good thing we were interrupted," added Chloe as she bent down to grab both of their tops from the floor.

Hearing the whine in her own voice, Beca said, "I mean… we could ask Amy to leave for the night?"

Chloe shook her head no, handing her a shirt. "We can't do that, Bec. It's not fair. This is her home, too."

"You're right," sighed Beca as she tugged the shirt Chloe had handed her over her head. She poked her head out of the collar to see Chloe had gotten dressed as well.

Chloe nodded and said, "It's okay, it'll happen eventually, yeah? I was really enjoying what we were doing."

Beca's body tingled at the memory of Chloe's hands on her. "I was too," she hummed, "but talk about blue balls…"

Chloe wrinkled her nose with distaste, but before she could respond, the jingle of keys signaled the arrival of their roommate.

"Hey, guys," Amy said when she opened the door. "Are you aware that it smells like smoke in here? And why are you wearing each other's shirts?"

Beca looked down at herself to see with some horror that Amy was right. She hadn't been paying attention to the top Chloe had handed her but had just put it on, and now she found herself clad in a turquoise shirt with polka dots that _definitely_ did not belong to her. And sure enough, when she looked up, she saw Chloe staring back at her, wearing in a simple black T-shirt.

Beca had to admit Chloe looked good in her clothes.

"Um…" Chloe started to say into the awkward silence, but Amy waved a hand to cut her off.

"I don't want to know. I'm assuming that's why you're holding a pan of charcoal?"

Beca knew her face had to be glowing. She hated being caught, but strangely, she didn't feel like hiding. Rather, she felt a weird sense of pride.

"No, that's for smoky flavoring. It's a new recipe," Beca sassed right back.

Amy laughed and said, "Woah there, short stack, it's all good. Just don't have sex on my bed, yeah? And not while I'm here," she added.

Beca opened her mouth to respond but Chloe interrupted, "Dinner's ready, so let's, uh, eat I guess?"

"You sure you're still hungry?" Amy asked snidely. "Didn't already fill up on the appetizer?"

Beca choked.

* * *

Shortly following their somewhat awkward dinner, prior to which they'd changed into their correct shirts, Beca sat at the table working on her laptop. She was searching over multiple travel websites to find some nice bed and breakfast getaways that would take them for the weekend. If they couldn't have privacy at their apartment, she'd make sure to find a comfortable place for them.

She eventually narrowed her search to a few promising options but wanted Chloe's input before she booked anything.

"Chlo, can you come here for a sec?" she called to Chloe, who had just finished in the shower and had changed into her pajamas.

"Sure!" she chirped back and moved to stand beside Beca. "What're you looking at?"

"Some B&Bs, I thought we could maybe stay at one this weekend? You know, for alone time?" she added quietly, gesturing to where Amy was typing away on her phone from her own bed.

From the way Chloe pursed her lips, Beca knew she'd understood. In the next second, however, Chloe's expression fell and she looked down at her feet.

Beca frowned at the unexpected response. "What's wrong?"

Chloe looked back up at her almost guiltily. "It's just… you're being so unbelievably sweet about it… but I'm not sure a B&B is really our style?"

Beca turned to look back at her laptop screen in surprise, then grimaced. She hoped she hadn't overstepped some kind of line by assuming that Chloe would want that. She'd still been buzzing from their impromptu session earlier and it hadn't occurred to her that Chloe wouldn't want to continue as soon as possible.

"Oh," she said, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. "So, do you not want to do that? Because it's okay if you don't, we don't have to."

Chloe scrunched her nose and replied, "Maybe not for our first? I'm worried that it might add pressure, and I think we'd be more comfortable here. And besides," Chloe added, leaning to whisper in Beca's ear, "do you really want our first time to be in a bed that dozens of other couples have used?"

"Ick," said Beca, grossed out. Then, she exhaled in relief. It wasn't the timeline that was a problem, but the location. Okay, she could work with that.

"Yeah," agreed Chloe. "But we could definitely do that in a few weeks? For a nice vacation? Maybe for now, we just have a date on Friday?"

Beca nodded, relieved. "Okay, yeah, sounds good." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and looked back up at Chloe. Trying to be quiet, she whispered, "Um, but what about –"

Amy's voice cut over her; clearly her whisper had travelled in the small apartment. "Don't worry your horny little minds," Amy said, "I'm headed out this weekend to see a boyfriend that is definitely not Bumper."

Beca craned her neck to glare at Amy over her laptop. "Did you say 'little?' Was that a short joke?"

Amy shrugged at her and replied, "That's up to you."

Before Beca could really get an argument going, Chloe interrupted. "Thanks, Amy!" she said, giving Beca a look that clearly said _If you make her change her mind I will kill you._

"Yeah… thanks, Amy," Beca deadpanned.

"I'm not paying rent for this weekend, then," Amy added, making Beca grit her teeth.

With a deep, calming breath, Beca returned her attention to the screen in front of her. "So," she said, "now we can pick the place for our vacation. Any preference?"

Chloe pulled up a chair next to her and they spent the next half hour debating the choices Beca had found before finally picking one they both liked. With just a few clicks and a credit card number, Beca had booked them a B&B for three weeks later as a nice getaway.

Beca realized, as Chloe pecked her once on the lips before moving to their bed for the evening, that she was actually quite looking forward to it. As long as she didn't think about the scores of people that had stayed in the room before them. Maybe she'd request a deep-clean prior to their visit…

* * *

Beca and Chloe surfed on a strange tension throughout the rest of the week, both anticipating the weekend. Beca noticed that Chloe touched her even more than she usually did, sometimes brushing her entire body against Beca's when passing one another in the apartment. She'd often look up from her laptop to see Chloe staring at her in a way that made her mouth go dry. Their kisses had become both too much and not enough. Sleeping next to each other in the same bed was almost unbearable. She was constantly on edge, worried her body was going to shatter under Chloe's next touch or wink.

She knew they were preparing, both more than ready for the next step. It wasn't until the week continued that she realized the full extent of their preparations. On Wednesday morning, while Beca sipped her usual black coffee for breakfast, she was watching Chloe sit up and stretch in their bed when –

"Wax or trim?" Chloe asked suddenly.

Beca set down her coffee and looked at her, her mind muddled and confused by the early morning.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You know…" Chloe said and gestured downward. "Wax or trim?"

Beca's face and neck became warm and she shifted in her chair. She knew if she'd been mid-sip just then, the coffee would have been sprayed across their kitchen table, and Chloe would never have let her forget that one. She wondered if it would be possible to sink through her chair, through the floor, and disappear. She couldn't believe Chloe had asked her that so casually while Amy slept in the bed next to them, hidden by only a clothes rack.

She returned her attention to Chloe, who was looking at her expectantly. After the initial shock wore off, she supposed Chloe had a point. It was important to talk about this now and be prepared rather than worry about it later.

"Honestly, dude, no preference. Um, like, you do you, you know? Do what you're comfortable with," she said somewhat awkwardly. "Um. What should I… what would you like me to…?" she shifted again in the chair. This was so weird.

Without hesitation, Chloe chirped back, "Same, whatever you're feeling!"

Beca gaped, astounded by how conversational Chloe was being. She shook her head a little, debating if she could still be asleep and in the middle of a particularly odd dream. For a moment, she wondered exactly how her life had turned into discussing such things as if talking about the weather. But then, as she continued to blink dumbly at Chloe, her memory was cast back through the years to an intruder in her shower and how somehow that invasive stranger had become the person she loved most.

Life is strange like that.

The following evening, while Chloe was on her own laptop and Amy took a shower, Beca began to sympathize with Chloe's desire to prepare when she found herself creating her first ever custom sex playlist. Well, the first one she'd ever made herself. She figured that with their shared love of music, it might be beneficial to have some playing during their time together. She hid her laptop screen from Chloe, wanting it to be a surprise when the time came. She had figured that as a mature, wise, and functioning adult, she should be able to devise a bedroom playlist without issue.

She was wrong.

She'd wanted to create their own playlist, something that was purely them, rather than using a pre-made selection, but had completely blanked on good songs to make love to. She became annoyed with herself; she knew music. She lived and breathed music, but she could not think of any songs beyond Titanium by David Guetta and Sia to add to the list. To make things worse, she had been utterly horrified to find that Spotify knew exactly what she was doing; even giving the playlist the subtle name "For us," it threw suggestion after suggestion of lewd song at her until she was blushing just looking at the screen. The songs weren't even good ones.

She huffed impatiently, frustrated by how long it was taking. Jesse had made theirs, and even though she'd positively despised his music taste, she hadn't complained much because it meant she hadn't had to make one herself. However, things were different between her and Chloe. She knew Chloe's taste in music as well she knew her own and finding the perfect songs for them both was proving to be challenging.

Beca furrowed her brow in thought, staring at but not seeing the box Chloe had gotten in the mail a month ago resting on Chloe's nightstand. A new soundtrack wouldn't be the only thing different about their experience. On a whim, and with a glance up at Chloe to make sure her attention was still focused on her own laptop, Beca opened Google and prepared to type. She got halfway through her first search before she panicked and closed the tab.

Closing her eyes, Beca pulled a deep breath through her nose. This was stupid. She should be able to look up how have sex with a woman without feeling weird about it. It's not like the sex police were going to show up at her door and make fun of her for wanting more information on how to do certain things. It's not her fault that no one in her life had talked to her about how to be with a woman like that. For her, sex ed had been simple and heteronormative. It wasn't her fault she didn't know exactly what to do.

Beca opened her eyes, determined. There was no shame in wondering about certain things and wanting to be educated in them before attempting to perform them. She wanted Chloe to feel good, and to do that, she'd appreciate some advice.

Eyes flicking once again to Chloe and ears straining to make sure Amy was still in the shower, Beca looked back to her screen. She pulled up Google once again. She hesitated, then decided to open an incognito tab. Just in case.

She spent the next twenty minutes bouncing to several web sites, discovering various methods and techniques, some of which sounded just plain weird and mildly alarming, but most of which seemed as though they could be fun and were things that she'd consider trying. She found a few explicitly instructional pages, which were helpful without making her uncomfortable. There were even a few tips that she filed away for later use, but not for their first time. She closed her browser feeling much more confident and calm, glad that she had decided to shove aside her discomfort and learn from others.

As she returned to compiling her playlist, which had finally started to gain some substance, Beca once again looked up at Chloe to see her still staring hard at her laptop, uncharacteristically quiet. Her mouth quirked as she wondered if Chloe was doing the same thing she had been. It wouldn't surprise her; they were both being incredibly methodological with all this.

It wasn't anything like her experiences with Jesse. With him, there hadn't been nearly as much prep, planning or buildup, it had simply sort of happened. Beca reached to her nearby glass and took a sip of water as she thought. To some extent, she and Chloe were being almost excessively, ridiculously methodological. Perhaps it would have been better if that fire alarm hadn't interrupted them and they had done it then. But, thought Beca, maybe the planning would make them both more comfortable when the time did come. Doing things this way, while it eliminated some of the spontaneity, almost ensured that they would both feel confident and prepared.

Beca smiled to herself. She had always needed time to process and get used to things, and Chloe, in encouraging the planning and buildup, was giving her that time. Beca knew she wouldn't panic at the last minute because the way they were going about it was taking care of all of her questions and fears, even those she hadn't known she'd had, beforehand. Her chest filled with affection for Chloe and at how slowly they were taking things.

Besides, thought Beca as she put the finishing touches on their playlist, the added buildup only meant that she was becoming increasingly antsy by the day. She figured that was all part of Chloe's plan, too.

* * *

On Friday, the day of their date, Beca could barely focus on her work. She physically bumped into several of her co-workers as she was walking, her head in the clouds. She put salt in her coffee instead of sugar and only noticed once she was more than halfway finished with it. She kept tuning out on conversations with others and was called on it several times. Only when she accidentally attempted to open and edit a sound file that she'd finished working on three months prior rather than the file for her latest client did Beca realize that it was perhaps better for her to go home a little early.

She wasn't nervous for the date. She was beyond excited.

She had planned what would hopefully be an amazing evening for them. It was a little unorthodox and didn't fit with their typical dates of fancy dining and romantic walks. No, the night she'd planned involved a trip to Jane's Carousel for a ride, then a walk to the beach for making sandcastles, a casual dinner at their favorite Chinese restaurant, and round of mini-golf before heading home. She knew Chloe was going to love it because it was different, fun, and stress-free.

She sort of forgot that they were probably going to have sex afterward. After all they had done to prepare, she had become was so supremely relaxed about it that it had completely slipped her mind.

Well. Okay. Maybe not completely slipped her mind. She was really, really looking forward to it, after all. But she hadn't planned their date night as any kind of build-up or pre-game to them having sex. She'd simply planned a fun night that they would both enjoy, and, well, if they ended up being intimate after it, that would be even better.

Leaving work early, Beca rushed home to begin getting ready for the evening. Chloe was already home too, as was Amy, so it felt somewhat crowded in their small apartment as she and Chloe weaved around one another, getting changed into date clothes and overall preparing themselves for a night out.

Beca ended up in the bathroom, attempting to style her long hair into something casual and yet still different from its everyday standard, when her eyes fell on a pair of nail clippers left on the sink. She smirked, but took the hint and trimmed her nails neatly, filing the edges. She'd been becoming irritated by their length anyway.

When she came out of the bathroom, her hair pinned up at the sides, she saw Chloe smoothing out the comforter on the freshly-made bed. She caught Beca's eye and winked, a mischievous grin sliding over her features.

"Okay, that's it, you could cut the tension in here with a knife," Amy's complaint brought Beca back to reality sharply. "I'm headed out for the weekend, so try not to smash the table, yeah? And if you smash _on_ the table, use Clorox wipes to clean it."

Beca shot a glare at Amy, not missing that Chloe had turned to look at the table thoughtfully. God no. Her back would be sore for days if they did that.

"Have fun, Amy," Beca said, knowing she was blushing. "Where are you headed again?"

"Oh, the usual," Amy replied. "Just another boyfriend."

"Bumper?" threw in Chloe, trying to catch Amy off guard.

"Uhhhhhhhhh… n-no. Definitely not Bumper," Amy said, her eyes darting around the room. Beca stared at her in disbelieving silence.

Amy recovered quickly and shot back, "But enough about my sexy ass, you two have fun. Just stay on your side of the room and use protection."

Beca gaped at her and choked out, "Yeah, um, strangely, not an issue here Ames."

Amy raised her eyebrows, looking between Beca and Chloe, and responded, "Listen, proper hygiene is important. Maybe wash your hands first, or, you could –"

"AMY. You don't want to be late," Beca said firmly through gritted teeth, glancing at Chloe who was openly laughing at the exchange.

Amy shrugged and moved to the door, opening it and heaving her overly large suitcase into the hallway. She turned around one last time and called out, "Oh, and don't forget to let the other Bellas know when you do it in the group chat. I've still got twenty bucks on this."

Beca picked up a pillow and threw it at Amy, only for it to hit the door as she slammed it shut behind her with a cackle. They heard her make her way down the stairs, swearing at her suitcase, until eventually the sounds faded.

There was a beat of awkward silence before Chloe said brightly, "That was fun!"

Beca grimaced back.

"Oh, come on, Bec," Chloe soothed, "She's just excited for us. And she's right, proper cleanliness is really important –"

"Are you ready to go?" Beca cut her off firmly. She was all well and good with cleanliness, as Chloe put it, but she didn't really need to have an in-depth discussion about it before what was going to be a fun and light-hearted date.

Chloe beamed back at her, sunshine streaming out from her face, and she replied, "Yep! All set."

"Me, too," Beca said, "So…after you?" she moved to the door and pulled it open, gesturing grandly outside.

Chloe plucked her purse from the floor and made her way out of the apartment with a "Thanks, m'lady!"

Beca rolled her eyes as she followed Chloe – her Chloe – out into the hall, locking the door behind them. She'd planned a fantastic evening that she knew Chloe would love. What's more, she knew that whatever happened after their date, she was ready.

* * *

 **Chloe's POV**

Chloe found herself completely blown away by how amazing Beca Mitchell was.

It definitely wasn't the first time it had happened; it wasn't even the first time it had happened since they'd started dating. In fact, she'd been awed by Beca just about every day they'd known each other.

The past several weeks since they'd become a couple had been pure bliss. At least once per week, she'd woken up in the morning, sure that it had all been a dream because it had been so perfect. She'd always felt the loss wash over her in crushing waves, needing her dream to be a reality, until her sleep-fogged brain would finally register that Beca was lying in her arms, holding on to her as tightly as she was holding onto Beca. That was usually when she realized that her reality had somehow become even better than her dreams.

If you had told her a year ago that the little "alternative" girl she'd been captivated by at the activities fair so long ago would someday be hers and only hers, she'd never have believed it. She'd have wanted it to be true but wouldn't have been able to let her hopes rise. But now, having experienced what was almost certainly the best date of her entire life, all of it planned by Beca, she couldn't imagine anything having turned out any differently.

It had been an unusual date for them, Beca having kept everything a surprise until the last possible second. Chloe envied her ability to keep things a secret; she was dreadful at surprises, often too excited over them that she'd inevitably end up telling the person all about it.

Though, Chloe reflected as Beca led her by the hand up the stairs to their apartment, she'd been getting better at keeping certain things a surprise. Perhaps she'd never had the proper motivation before. Now, though, she couldn't wait to see Beca's expression at her latest surprise. There was nothing she loved more.

Well, except for Beca herself.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Beca glanced back to ask her before returning her focus to the stairs, for which Chloe was grateful. They'd tripped up those stairs before when too enraptured with one another and she wasn't eager for a repeat.

"It was the best," Chloe responded sincerely. And it had been. The carousel had been cute, even though there were lots of kids around, and the sandcastles had been a wonderful reminder of her former life in Florida. Their Chinese food had been exceptional as always. What had most surprised her was the mini-golf. She loved playing mini-golf, but knew that Beca wasn't too fond of it, so it had been incredibly sweet of Beca to take her. Though, she could have done without seeing exactly why Beca hated it so much.

"I'm not sure you really had to yell at the inanimate objects at golf, though," Chloe added.

"I told you," Beca said somewhat heatedly, "they aren't inanimate, they plot and they move directly to where I'm hitting the ball. It's a conspiracy."

"Hmm," Chloe mused. "It was a tad much to threaten the kid working the course with violence, don't you think?"

"He was making fun of me and you know it."

Chloe did know it, and she didn't blame him. Beca had looked ridiculous when she'd had to tug off her shoes and wade into the little pool to retrieve her ball.

Chloe smiled at the memory, falling more in love with the dork holding her hand with every passing second. With Beca, everything felt easy. She'd fallen in love with her as easily as she breathed. It had happened without conscious thought, without her even being aware of it until it had been far too late to do anything about it. Without even trying, Beca had become her lifeline, her home. Her everything. It had always been simple. Except it really wasn't, at least not until Beca had finally loved her in return.

They'd reached the door of their apartment, but before Beca could open it, Chloe pulled her around to place a soft kiss on her lips, feeling Beca's arms circle loosely around her waist.

"Thank you for the date," Chloe whispered when she pulled back.

Beca smiled at her, all love and tenderness. "Anytime," she responded, holding her gaze for a moment before returning her attention to opening their apartment.

Once inside, Chloe hung her jacket and purse on the stand by the door and turned to watch Beca lock the door behind them. It wasn't until Chloe glanced at the bed that she remembered their potential post-date plans and her heart shot to her throat.

She'd completely forgotten that they'd basically planned on having sex following their date. Everything had been so relaxed and casual and _normal_ between them that she'd been too focused on the moment to contemplate their night alone together. _Maybe that's what it's supposed to be like_ , she thought, _when you're with the right person. It's supposed to feel natural and right._

They hadn't really talked about a set timeframe. Chloe had figured that if the moment felt right, they would both know. She preferred it this way; everything else had been so carefully planned that leaving the timeline open had kept things exciting, had ensured she was always just a little on edge.

She loved the thrill.

"So, I'll have to keep carousels and mini-golf in the regular date rotation," Beca said conversationally, moving closer to her and interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, I think that'd be…" Chloe trailed off, stunned into silence by the look in Beca's eyes.

She looked different. She was staring at Chloe as though she'd never quite seen her before. Her gaze was unwavering, her head leaned forward slightly, her lips gently parted. There was no hint of the awkwardness or uncertainty that typically surrounded Beca, but instead a calm confidence.

That's when Chloe knew. It was time.

She threw herself forward, immediately attaching her mouth to Beca's and threading her fingers into Beca's soft hair.

Beca made a surprised noise but wasted no time in returning the kiss as Chloe opened her mouth to let their tongues meet. Chloe's knees weakened, and she fell further into Beca, knowing she'd support her effortlessly. Beca was such a good kisser.

Before she knew it, Beca's hands were resting lightly on her bare lower back, having passed under the material of her shirt like it wasn't even there. She whimpered when Beca tugged her impossibly closer, their bodies flush and touching in all the right places.

Wanting to gain some control, Chloe broke from Beca's lips to move down to her neck, pressing kisses against her pulse point and trailing them down, down to her collarbone.

"Chlo…" Beca gasped at the sensation, and Chloe felt something hot coil low in her stomach. She needed Beca to keep making noises. She needed Beca to keep saying her name.

She needed Beca.

Without even thinking about it, Chloe flattened her tongue against Beca's neck and dragged it up, causing Beca's hands to curl on her back, lightly scratching her, making her body shudder against Beca's. She didn't care. Beca's skin felt too amazing under her tongue for her to care.

Beca groaned and ducked her head, snaring Chloe's lips with her own. Their kissing became frantic as the air around them seemed to heat up and crackle. Chloe didn't want it to stop, encouraging Beca with small hums and whimpers of her own that made Beca respond with tighter hands, harder breathing, and light shivers.

Suddenly, Beca pulled away, bringing their kissing to a shuddering halt. Chloe's eyes fluttered open, confused and dazed at the loss of contact. She was about to ask Beca if something was wrong when Beca cut across her.

"Is it okay if… do you want to?" Beca's eyes flicked between both of Chloe's as if looking for any sign of unease or hesitation.

Chloe was surprised by the rush of desire that overtook her at the question. She knew what Beca was asking. However, she also wanted to be absolutely sure before they took things any further; they'd had misunderstandings before.

"Are you asking if I want to have sex?" Chloe asked, feeling a little ridiculous but wanting to make certain that she and Beca were on the same page.

Beca's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she awkwardly rubbed at the back of her neck. Chloe had to stop herself from leaning forward to kiss her again because she looked so adorable.

"Uh. Yeah. That's what I'm asking."

Chloe searched Beca's face for any discomfort. It was essential that Beca want this as badly as she did, or everything would be ruined. However, it seemed as if Beca's previous fears had disappeared and resolve stared at her from Beca's eyes. Resolve, and a deep wanting that sent Chloe's heart into overdrive.

"Yes," she whispered simply. "Yes."

A nervous smile came over Beca's face and she said, "Well, okay."

Swiftly, Beca leaned forward to capture Chloe's lips again, kissing her more slowly and sensually than she had been earlier. A tongue flicked against her own and Chloe whimpered; Beca was kissing her as she'd never kissed her before.

Beca's hands dropped to her hips, tugging their bodies firmly together. As Beca moved from her mouth down to her neck, Chloe's hands went around to pull at Beca's back, needing her even closer. Getting the hint, Beca slid a thigh between Chloe's legs and moved her hands to her behind, tugging her onto it.

Immediately, a rush of heat shot to where her center was in contact with Beca and Chloe's hands twitched convulsively on Beca's back. They both groaned when Chloe rolled her hips once, grinding into Beca.

But then, Beca removed her thigh and was stepping away from her, walking backwards as she led her by both hands toward their bed.

Chloe's chest was heaving; she couldn't get enough air. Her body was aching for Beca's touch, needing them to move to the bed immediately, tingling in anticipation of what was to come. However, as they moved, Chloe's eyes landed on the box on her nightstand. The one that had been delivered to their apartment several weeks ago during their Skype call with Aubrey and Stacie.

"Wait!" she said breathlessly. "I forgot something!"

Beca stopped in her backward path to their bed and looked at her questioningly.

"Um," said Chloe, a little embarrassed to be putting them on pause. "Just… stay right there, okay?" she pointed to the bed. "Don't go anywhere."

Beca turned to glance at the spot where Chloe had pointed, then dropped her hands away from Chloe and moved to sit on the edge of their fold-out. "Okay," she said, "but, like, this is still happening, yeah?"

Chloe nodded rapidly, feeling as though her knees had turned to water. "It's so happening. I just need a minute in the bathroom."

Beca exhaled dramatically and fanned her own face with a hand. "Good, because I think I might combust if it doesn't."

Snorting at Beca's theatrics, Chloe moved to grab the box from the little shelf on her nightstand. "I'll be super quick," she said, already headed for the bathroom.

"No worries," Beca called leisurely from behind. As Chloe made to pull the shower curtain divider shut behind her, she got one last view of Beca leaning back on their bed, using her hands to brace herself up. She was looking at Chloe with so much open vulnerability that she was momentarily stunned at the realization that Beca really wanted her as much as she wanted Beca. She'd been waiting years for that moment.

Once she pulled the curtain securely closed behind her, Chloe immediately started stripping off her blouse. She hadn't been lying when she said she'd be quick – she didn't want to wait much longer for this, either. It didn't take much time for her to remove the rest of her clothes. She reached for the box while simultaneously tugging off a sock, nearly losing her balance and using the sink to brace herself. Even as she opened the box, having already slit the packing tape shortly after it had first arrived to check its contents, she wondered vaguely if she shouldn't have saved this for their upcoming bed and breakfast trip. Perhaps Beca would have wanted to undress her their first time.

 _Ah, well,_ Chloe thought, as she pulled the lingerie out of the box. _Too late now._

She shimmied into the blue lace panties and grabbed the matching bra, sliding it on. As she clasped it in the back, she berated herself for not getting the front-closure kind. The clasps on the bra were kind of small and tricky, and it took her longer than usual to put it on correctly. Finally, she picked up the sheer black "cover" to her ensemble, putting it on and checking how she looked in the mirror.

She had to admit, she'd done well. She hoped to God that Beca would like it and that it wasn't too much to start with.

She bit her lip as she made eye contact with herself in the mirror. What if it was too much? What if it scared Beca away? They'd talked about basically everything else leading up to where they were, but she hadn't mentioned that she'd bought lingerie, wanting it to be a surprise.

Her stomach felt fluttery.

She'd spent so long convincing Beca that she could never be disappointed by her that she'd forgotten to worry that she might be the disappointing one.

It had been so long since her last time. She hadn't slept with anyone since she'd broken up with Tom halfway through Beca's freshman year. Sure, she'd dated and had been physical with several guys and one woman since then, but she'd always stopped before having sex with them.

She'd been holding out too much hope for Beca to find sex with anyone else appealing. She knew who she'd be thinking about the entire time. It wouldn't be fair to her partner; it wasn't their fault they weren't Beca.

So, in a way, Beca was more prepared for this than she was, having only ended her relationship with Jesse less than a year ago. Chloe really didn't want to mess up or do something wrong. She wanted Beca's first time with a woman – with _her_ – to be absolutely perfect.

Oh, God. She'd never done this before, either. What if Beca didn't like it?

Frantically, as though cramming last-second for a big test, Chloe cast her mind back to all that she had read, and yes, Googled, over the past month. She didn't feel embarrassed that she'd looked up certain things; after all, she'd always felt better about the unknown when she was going in prepared. She really didn't see that there was anything to be embarrassed about, because reading about what might be good to do had helped put her mind at ease.

Besides, she was pretty sure Beca had done the same thing. No way was she just working on her laptop all the time.

Glaring hard at herself in the mirror, Chloe took a deep breath to soothe her nerves. She glanced down into the sink, remembering what Amy had said. She grimaced and rolled her eyes at herself, but turned on the faucet and grabbed the soap to wash her hands.

She dried her hands on a towel, annoyed at herself. This was ridiculous. She was confident about her body, she loved Beca, and sex came naturally once you got started. Instinct would take over, surely.

Besides, she was already really, painfully turned on, and Beca Mitchell was laying on their bed, waiting to make love to her. Her heart soared at the thought. Beca, who had planned the perfect date, who had danced with her in their kitchen, who had asked her to come to New York, who had saved the Bellas, who had saved Chloe's world. Beca, who, for some crazy reason, loved her. It was what she'd hoped for for years, and she knew anyone would be lucky to be in her place.

Chloe winked at herself once in the mirror as a final boost of confidence and turned to open the shower curtain. She lifted a hand, fully intending to rip the curtain aside to reveal herself to Beca, and –

Her hand hung in midair.

For the first time, Chloe appreciated how much courage it must have taken Beca to leave that bathroom on the first night of their relationship. Then, Beca had thought she'd been expecting sex, and been not at all ready for it. But she'd put Chloe first and had stepped into their apartment ready to give Chloe her all, her everything, because she thought that was what Chloe wanted.

It must have been the scariest moment of her life, and Chloe again felt a twinge of guilt over the misunderstanding.

But now, things were different because it was her turn, and this time, she knew that Beca was out there, and she knew they were on the same page. She wanted it, badly. They were both ready for it emotionally and mentally. She knew she was more than ready physically, too. It was time.

That didn't mean she wasn't nervous.

But she trusted Beca completely. She'd already given her heart and soul over to Beca. Beca was the only person in the world that Chloe trusted enough with what they were about to do.

Chloe knew without a doubt that if it were anyone else lying out there in wait for her, she wouldn't have been able to do it. She'd have remained hidden in the tiny bathroom, never to come out.

But it was Beca, so she wanted this. She'd do anything for Beca.

With one final deep breath, Chloe pushed aside the shower curtain to reveal herself. Beca was sitting in the same spot as Chloe had left her, her eyes closed slightly and her breathing deep. However, the sound of the curtain rattling against the rod alerted her and Beca's eyes opened fully to land on her.

She waited, absorbing every change in Beca's expression, hunting for any sign that she didn't like the lingerie.

There was none. Beca's eyes widened with surprise, her cheeks flushed, and she inhaled sharply. Her gaze raked unabashedly over Chloe's body, taking in everything. It was almost comical how turned on she looked. Chloe shifted her weight to her other foot.

Then, Beca's expression changed into one so open and tender that it made Chloe's chest hurt. A gentle smile appeared, and Chloe's anxiety instantly slid away. The look on Beca's face reminded her that she loved Beca more than she loved anyone else. Beca was the most important person in her life.

She knew then that what they were about to do would be perfect because they would be with each other. Her residual nerves drained away to be replaced with desire. Dimly, she registered the soft music coming from Beca's speaker, placed on her nightstand.

"Is that… Glass Animals?" she asked.

Beca nodded. "I – uh – made a sort of playlist. The Weeknd is on there, and SoMo, and…Titanium."

Chloe blinked, impressed. "Wow. You really prepared."

Beca shrugged. "Not as much as you did," she said, gesturing down Chloe's body. "You look… amazing."

"It's not too much?" Chloe asked shyly.

"Not at all," replied Beca, her eyes flicking down to Chloe's chest and back up to her eyes repeatedly. "I kind of love it. I maybe should have done the same," she added, gesturing at her own body, still clad in her date clothes.

Chloe was getting distracted by Beca's wandering eyes. "You can look, you know," she said. "It's kind of the point."

She watched Beca's throat bob up and down and knew she must have swallowed hard. Chloe didn't blame her; she knew the moisture in her own mouth had relocated elsewhere the moment Beca had mentioned getting her own lingerie.

"You can do that for the bed and breakfast," Chloe replied suddenly, really needing them to get past the talking phase.

"Okay," croaked out Beca in an unusually husky voice, and Chloe knew she was getting impatient as well.

Beca moved to her, as if tugged by a magnet. She stood up from the edge of the bed and moved to stand directly in front of Chloe, lifting a hand to trace her thumb lightly over Chloe's cheek. Chloe leaned into the contact, her breath catching in her throat. At some point, her knees had started trembling again out of both excitement and the return of her nerves.

She wanted Beca to feel good.

Beca smiled softly at her then, and Chloe didn't think she'd ever looked so attractive. "We can go slow, okay?" Beca reassured her.

Chloe nodded and Beca leaned toward to hesitantly press her lips to Chloe's. The instant they made contact, Chloe felt a spark rumble through her body. Beca pulled back to change the angle, brushing their noses together before kissing her again, keeping things gentle. Chloe realized after a few moments of this that Beca was waiting for her to take control, so she did, allowing her tongue to taste Beca's lower lip before Beca granted her access.

Beca's arms came up to circle around her neck, and Chloe's skin twitched at the first time they'd touched since she had changed out of her date clothes. Her hands rested comfortably at Beca's hips, holding her steady. As their kissing continued, Chloe noticed that something was missing. Her brow furrowed, trying to figure out what it was, even as she continued to flick her tongue into Beca's mouth.

Then she realized: Beca's hands had remained around her neck rather than trailing down over Chloe's near-bare body. Chloe almost laughed; Beca was being so respectful and good to her.

Chloe eased away from the kiss to rest her forehead against Beca's. "You can touch me, if you want," she said against Beca's lips.

Beca hesitated, then pulled back and dropped her arms. Chloe's eyes fluttered, expecting hands to land on her, but instead Beca reached for the hem of her own shirt, crossing her arms to lift it off over her head and cast it aside.

Beca shrugged. "I wanted it to be even," she said, and Chloe nodded, not minding the view in the least.

Beca cautiously lifted a hand to the height of Chloe's stomach, paused, then dropped it. She tried again right away but with the same result. She glanced up sheepishly and apologized. "Sorry, I don't know why… you just…this is important."

Chloe smiled, unoffended, because she understood completely.

"Why don't we… here," she responded, reaching for Beca's hands and guiding them to rest on her waist, over the sheer material of her cover.

Beca exhaled slowly once her hands were on Chloe, brushing her thumbs over the material. Her eyes flicked to Chloe's, then back down.

Chloe let her own hands trail up Beca's arms to rest looped around the back of her neck, feeling goosebumps rise along Beca's skin. She saw Beca's eyes flutter at the touch, and a thrill shot through her.

The first movement of Beca's hands, sliding up her sides and over her stomach snapped Chloe's patience in half. She sucked in a noisy breath that only urged Beca on, making her step closer to move her hands around to caress Chloe's lower back, up to her shoulders, then back down and around to her front to rest just below her bra.

Chloe was seized with the desire to grab Beca and lay her over the kitchen table right then and there, born, no doubt, of the seeds Amy had planted earlier, but Beca distracted her by touching her through the bra and sheer.

Chloe gasped, leaning into the touch. Beca moved closer, bringing her hands to the opening of the sheer. They made eye contact, and Chloe couldn't believe how careful Beca was being as she slowly eased the sheer away from her body, sliding it off her shoulders to where she felt it pool on the floor behind her heels.

Chloe reached for Beca's hips to tug her into a searing kiss. The sensation of their bare stomachs against each other sent her heart racing and her fingers tracing up and down Beca's back, trying to bring her even closer, into her very skin. She could feel Beca's hands on her own back, pulling shiver after shiver from her when fingers brushed along her spine.

Needing to feel Beca, Chloe moved her hands to Beca's breasts through her black bra. Beca groaned into their kiss and Chloe found herself moving backward until Beca had her pressed into the wall near their bathroom. She kept her hands moving on Beca's bra, marveling at how Beca arched into her with every sweep of her thumbs over the material.

Beca broke away from her mouth to press lips to her neck, moving up to her ear and down again. Chloe's skin burned at the trail Beca left on her, her eyes fluttering and her head falling back to thud against the wall. Beca bit down lightly on her pulse point, tearing a keen from Chloe's throat and making her stomach tighten. Instinctively, her leg came up to hitch itself around Beca.

The enthusiastic buck of Beca's hips into her surprised her, making her grunt.

"Sorry," muttered Beca, pulling back an inch. "It got away from me."

Breathless, Chloe puffed back. "Don't apologize. And don't stop."

A low growl escaped Beca's throat, making Chloe's body beg for more friction, more contact, more Beca. She used her leg to press Beca against her again, encouraging the slow rolling of Beca's hips into hers. It felt amazing, but she needed even more and a frustrated noise escaped her.

Thankfully, Beca understood and reached behind herself to release Chloe's leg from her waist. Pulling her by the hands, Beca moved backward until she was seated on the edge of their bed and looking up at Chloe. It wasn't until Beca reached for her hips and pulled that Chloe understood what she wanted. Practically tingling in anticipation, she lifted one foot to place her knee next to Beca's hip, then the other, adjusting until she was perched over Beca, straddling her lap.

Beca's hands moved to her backside and pulled her in closer. Chloe wrapped her arms securely around Beca's neck for balance, her muscles tensing when Beca's tongue met one of the firm lines on her stomach and licked up. With a gasp of surprise, her hands tightened around Beca's shoulders and she couldn't stop herself from grinding down into Beca's lap. Her body lit on fire when Beca's hands tightened in encouragement; she began rolling into Beca as Beca pressed her lips to her chest and neck.

Her rhythm faltered when Beca bit down gently where her neck met her shoulder. The warmth between her legs started screaming at her to take things up a notch, so, planting her knees firmly, Chloe pushed at Beca's shoulder, urging her down onto her back and further up the bed. Chloe followed, bracing her hands on either side of Beca's head and dimly registering the heat of Beca's touch on her thighs.

She leaned down, dropping one elbow to the mattress to kiss Beca, loving the feel of the body beneath hers. Even as their kiss deepened, she appreciated how well they fit together. _See?_ she thought vaguely. _It comes naturally after a while._

Chloe's need grew, and she imagined Beca was feeling similarly. She pulled away to adjust her position, straddling one of Beca's legs rather than both of her hips. Beca glanced down at their bodies and her eyes widened when Chloe slipped a knee high between her thighs. Chloe felt Beca's hands move to her lower back as she once again leaned down for a kiss.

As they kissed, she pressed her knee and thigh up. Beca wrenched away from the kiss with a gasp as her entire body jerked beneath Chloe.

Pleased at the response, Chloe maintained the pressure and whispered jokingly into Beca's ear, "Do we need a safe word?"

Beca turned back to look at her with a very sarcastic expression. "How about 'No, that hurts?'" she asked dryly.

Chloe grinned down at her and began rocking her hips forward leisurely, driving into Beca. Beca screwed her eyes shut and her hands clutched at Chloe's back.

"Why don't we do something like 'The eagle has landed?'" she purred out.

Beca groaned, but whether at what Chloe said or what she was doing Chloe wasn't sure. Eyes still shut tightly, Beca managed to gasp out, "That's so long."

"Hmm," mused Chloe thoughtfully, not intending to answer. Instead, she continued moving her hips and dropped her head to press open-mouth kisses to Beca's neck, making Beca hiss and arch into her. When she found what seemed to be a particularly sensitive spot, she closed her lips around it and pulled it into her mouth. Beca's reaction was instantaneous; her hands gripped at Chloe's back to draw her nails down its length and she raised her own knee to give Chloe some relief.

Chloe moaned at the slight sting of the scratches and the feel of Beca against her center. She needed even more.

"Can I… is it okay if I touch you? Through your pants?" she asked.

Beca's eyes snapped open and she nodded frantically, adding, "Yes, please, I – yes."

Chloe blinked. Wow. Okay. So, she'd been teasing for maybe a little too long.

There was certainly one way to fix that.

Chloe moved her weight to her one elbow and to her knees to slide one hand down between their bodies. Her fingers trailed between Beca's breasts over her bra, down over her stomach, and, with one final look into Beca's eyes, her hand pressed into Beca's crotch over her jeans.

Beca jerked again and whimpered, her eyebrows drawing together and mouth falling open. Chloe held her hand there for a few beats, reveling at the heat she'd discovered there and letting Beca get used to the sensation until she began to rub at the seam of Beca's pants, pressing lightly.

Beca groaned again and her hands pulled Chloe down on top of her, trapping her hand between their hips as Beca tilted up into her.

Chloe was shocked. Beca was panting, straining to bring them even closer. She'd had no idea Beca had wanted this so badly. Had wanted her. It was remarkable.

Deciding not to tease any longer, Chloe pulled her hand away to tug at the waistline of Beca's jeans. "Let's get these off of you, yeah?"

Beca immediately dropped her hands from Chloe's back to reach in between them and undo the button of her pants. Chloe slid off of her to stand at the end of the bed. She reached for the ankles of the skinny jeans and began to tug them down, but, as they were skinny jeans, they only made it so far before they got stuck. Beca lifted her hips to help and Chloe gave an enthusiastic yank on the pants.

Unfortunately, her enthusiasm pulled Beca right off the end of the bed with a surprised squeal to land on the floor with a loud thud.

"Shit, Bec! I'm so sorry!" Chloe exclaimed, immediately crouching and reaching for Beca to help her up.

Beca held up a hand to stop her. "The eagle has landed," she groaned painfully.

Chloe rocked back on her heels, knowing that if Beca was joking around she was okay. Teasing, she fired back, "Yeah, with a thud that made the whole apartment shake."

"Hey!" Beca said indignantly, sitting up to glare at Chloe.

Chloe shrugged in response and replied, "Calm down, you're tiny. It just slipped out."

Beca threw her a wicked grin, sending dread tumbling through Chloe's chest. And, sure enough, Beca snidely said, "Well, slip back in, then."

Chloe's stomach jolted and she found herself gaping speechlessly at the still-smiling brunette, stunned by what she'd said. Flirtation was her job, but it looked like Beca had taken over. Beca laughed at her and moved to tug off her own jeans, kicking them away and to the side before climbing back on the bed.

"Come here," Beca called to her, still amused and sat upright.

Chloe recovered enough to want revenge; she all but launched herself on the bed to kneel next to Beca and started kissing her feverishly. It was different, more intense now that they were both only in their underwear. Her hands ran over the smooth skin of Beca's back, fingers sliding over her bra strap again and again. She had just started to hate the garment for being in her way when Beca pulled back from their kissing.

Beca's eyes met hers and Beca said softly, "I love that bra on you, but I'd like it to come off. Is that okay?"

Wondering if Beca was a mind reader, Chloe responded, "Yes, that's okay."

Beca gave a single nod and determination filled her expression. She reached behind Chloe, her fingers following the strip of lace, until she found the clasp connecting the two sides. Chloe watched Beca's face closely as her eyebrows drew together in concentration and her tongue poked out a little between her teeth. She could tell Beca was struggling with the tiny clasps on the bra, fingers scrabbling against her skin. Chloe mentally kicked herself again for not going with a front clasp but instead finding what had to be the most irritating bra of all time.

"Um, just give me a sec," Beca insisted, looking adorably frustrated.

"It's okay. They're small hooks, if you want I can just –"

But in the next moment, Chloe felt the bra give as Beca managed to unhook it.

"Ah ha!" cheered Beca excitedly, easing the bra from Chloe's shoulders before whirling it over her head like a lasso and launching it away to fly across the room.

Chloe raised her eyebrows. How had she fallen in love with this person? "You're so weird."

"Thanks," Beca replied automatically with a huge smile. That is, until her gaze dropped to look at Chloe's bare chest. Unexpectedly, butterflies erupted in Chloe's stomach. No one had seen her bare like this for a long time. Beca's expression became tender again, and she glanced back up to Chloe's eyes.

"You're beautiful," she said sincerely, making Chloe's butterflies vanish and her heart warm. "Take mine off?"

Chloe didn't hesitate in reaching around behind Beca to find the clasp of her bra. That one was standard, and she was relieved to be able to unhook it within a few seconds of trying. She helped Beca out of it, then dropped it onto the floor next to the bed.

She allowed her own eyes to drop to Beca's breasts, taking in as much detail as she could. Beca was stunning. "You look perfect," she said, looking back up to see that Beca's eyes had definitely been on her chest again. Not that she could blame her; Beca was a self-admitted boob-man.

Chloe reached forward to cup Beca's cheek and drew her in for a brief kiss. Their chests were pulled against each other, breasts brushing, which was new and exciting. Chloe loved the feel of Beca against her but wanted more.

She lifted her hands to rest lightly on the sides of Beca's breasts, feeling Beca inhale sharply against her lips. Taking that as a good sign, Chloe slowly moved her hands over soft skin, captivated by the warmth, until they covered Beca completely, the peaks pressing into her palms. Beca sighed and arched toward her, enthralling Chloe so much that she barely noticed when Beca's hands landed on her. However, she was jolted sharply back to herself when Beca's thumbs brushed over taut skin and she gasped into the feeling.

"Lay on your side?" Beca asked her softly.

A shudder went through Chloe at the suggestion. She had a pretty good idea of what was next, and she knew she was more than ready, maybe embarrassingly so. She let Beca guide her down so that they were on their sides facing each other. Beca tangled their legs together and pressed forward into her, causing one of Chloe's hands to latch onto her hip and continue the movement. They resumed kissing, chests pressed together and working into an easy rocking rhythm that drove Chloe more insane with every cant of Beca's hips into hers.

Much too soon, Beca paused her movements and Chloe balked, wondering if Beca had changed her mind.

"Just say the word, we can stop," Chloe said urgently.

But Beca shook her head. "No, it's just… lay on your back? Um, if that's okay?"

Chloe blinked in surprise at Beca taking control but found that she enjoyed it. Like, a lot. She reclined, using the hand on Beca's hip to help move Beca on top of her. Beca positioned herself to straddle one of Chloe's legs like Chloe had done for her earlier and leaned down on an elbow to place a kiss against her lips. Chloe exhaled shakily when she didn't stop there. Lips trailed over her jaw, down her neck, and across her chest. Chloe's hands weaved into Beca's hair, urging her on.

The first kiss pressed against her breast made Chloe's eyes slam closed and her breathing increase. She felt Beca hesitate over her, and wanted to ask her why, but then a tongue nudged the peak of her breast and her mind went blank. Beca's mouth dropped to enclose the straining skin, tongue prodding and soothing over and over while her hand gave attention to the other side. Chloe squirmed, hearing herself whine loudly when Beca sucked on her skin. Beca eventually released her, allowing her to relax for only a second before her mouth moved to the other side. Chloe's hands tightened in Beca's hair, then released to drop to her shoulders to hold Beca against her as she arched up desperately.

Unable to take any more, she scrabbled at Beca's shoulders to pull her up and away. She was panting, craving Beca everywhere, needing her more than she had ever needed anything. Beca must have seen the need in her eyes, because without further preamble, Beca rocked forward into her, applying the friction her body had been craving.

A firework erupted in her mind. Chloe swore loudly and her hips bucked up, making Beca gasp in response. She needed that. Repeatedly. Her hands clawed at Beca's back frantically, seeking more. Getting the hint, Beca swiveled her hips down and into Chloe again and again, Chloe rising to meet her each time, propping up a knee to give Beca some friction of her own. It wasn't until Chloe felt Beca against her own thigh that it occurred to her that Beca must be able to feel exactly how much she wanted this. The thought only spurred her on and the moaned at a particularly pointed tilt of Beca's hips.

Beca reached down to hoist Chloe's free leg over a hip, giving her more room to work against Chloe. Chloe squirmed; the contact was _almost_ but not quite, and she knew exactly what she needed.

"Bec," she gasped, her hands digging much too hard into Beca's back to pull them together.

Beca nodded and asked, "Is it okay if I touch you? Like, without anything between us?"

Chloe almost sobbed in relief; she felt like she was going to shatter if Beca didn't touch her. "Yes," she managed. "God, yes."

Beca's eyes darkened and she moved so that Chloe could lift her hips and shimmy her own underwear down. Beca gasped quietly when she was revealed and, brushing Chloe's hands aside, hooked her thumbs under the hem of the blue lace to cast it from Chloe's body.

Completely exposed, Chloe lay there as Beca stared up and down the length of her body. She wiggled somewhat uncomfortably. While she appreciated Beca taking her time and enjoying the view, she really needed attention on one specific spot, thank you very much.

Beca's eyes found hers and she placed a hand lightly on Chloe's knee. "Spread 'em, Beale."

Chloe almost died at how casual Beca was being, but obliged immediately, bending her legs at the knee and separating them to allow Beca to climb over and rest between them. This new position allowed her to feel Beca against her, driving her arousal even higher as Beca put some of her weight on top of her. Chloe reveled at how amazing Beca felt against her, and she hadn't even touched her with her hand yet.

Stooping down for one more kiss pressed against swollen lips, Beca whispered to her seriously, "If anything doesn't feel right, let me know right away, please."

"I will," Chloe promised, her hands moving to rest on Beca's back once again. Beca leaned in for another kiss, resting on one elbow as she lifted a hand to move between them, mimicking what Chloe had done earlier. Chloe's core throbbed in anticipation and she couldn't stop her hips from tilting up into Beca.

Fingers trailed over her stomach, down the side of her hip, brushing along her inner thigh, moving to trace immediately below where Chloe wanted her, only to come back up the same path and rest low on her stomach, just above short, neat curls. Feather light touches traced the line, back and forth, slowly, carefully, making her stomach muscles twitch until Chloe wanted to scream at Beca to get on with it. She tutted impatiently, making Beca laugh quietly before she finally lowered her hand to press lightly into Chloe's center.

They both groaned at the first touch. Chloe knew she was louder, her eyes sliding closed.

She risked opening her eyes a crack, needing to see Beca in that moment to reassure herself of her realness. Beca hovered above her, her own eyes closed in concentration. Yep, it was really Beca that was making her feel like this. It was really Beca touching her. That was all Chloe saw before Beca's hand moved against her and her eyes rolled back.

Fingers slid upward, feeling and exploring carefully. They reached the top only to pull down and repeat the motion, making Chloe's hands clamp down onto Beca's back.

"You're so…" Beca murmured from above her.

"I know. It's all because of you."

Beca made a small noise of awe at that and her movements became more confident. Chloe knew that a slew of quiet sounds escaped from her throat, but she couldn't help it as Beca circled around, obviously searching for a specific bundle of nerves. She brushed so close to it that Chloe's hips jerked, but then she missed it again, driving Chloe to desperation.

"It's – unnh – a little – left," she managed to pant out.

That did the trick. The instant Beca's fingers nudged her bud, Chloe saw stars. She moaned and lifted into Beca, her head thrown back against the pillow.

"God, yes, that's – yes, Beca," she cried out, unable to form coherent words, but Beca seemed to understand. She continued her stroking movements, going up to circle around the bundle tightly, adding light pressure with each pass before easing down again. Ever the musician, Beca soon found a comfortable rhythm that had Chloe teetering on the edge much sooner than she thought she would be, her hips moving to match Beca's pace.

Beca's fingers circled around once more, then dropped lower to trace her entrance. Chloe's eyes flew open, needing Beca to keep going.

Already having been watching her, Beca asked once more, "Are you sure?"

In response, Chloe pushed herself further down the bed until Beca's hand was pressed against her. "Completely," she said breathlessly, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Keep talking to me," Beca replied and Chloe nodded, knowing that Beca would need to know that what she was doing was okay.

Slowly, Beca found her opening with her middle finger and delicately eased inside. Chloe moaned and her toes curled against the mattress as she processed the idea that it was Beca inside of her, making her feel so good.

"Yes, that's – right there, Bec," she gasped, knowing it would reassure Beca.

Beca eased in and out, slowly at first, but then with more confidence, adding a second finger. Chloe's entire body jerked and lifted, her hands clutching desperately at Beca's back, sides, shoulders, anywhere she could reach as Beca continued moving in and out, curling her fingers occasionally to hit the perfect spot.

"You're amazing," Beca whispered reverently, making Chloe whimper.

"So are you," Chloe managed between breaths.

She panted, and her hands clenched on Beca's back, incoherent noises mixed with Beca's name spilling from her lips over and over. Beca twisted her hand to press her palm into Chloe even as her fingers continued moving, using her hip to drive into her more firmly.

Chloe's entire body tensed and she writhed, pushing herself downward. "Bec – don't stop – that's – Christ – I'm –" Beca moved into her more firmly and dropped her mouth onto Chloe's, kissing her sloppily and roughly, making Chloe's muscles tense until she was pushed off the edge, crying out incoherently.

Waves crashed over her and her jaw locked as she arched into Beca, shuddering over and over. Beca kept her hand where it was, helping to hold her steady.

At long last, Chloe relaxed, melting into the bed. She felt Beca remove her hand and shift as if to move off her, but she reached up instead to pull Beca down into a tight hug, needing Beca to be as close as possible. She lifted her head to bury her face into Beca's neck, inhaling the scent of her skin and shampoo.

"I've got you," Beca whispered into her ear. "I'm not going anywhere."

To Chloe's embarrassment, her eyes pricked and she had to hold back tears, knowing that if she cried Beca would think she'd done something wrong. But that wasn't it. Beca had done everything right. Chloe clung to her, feeling as if she would float away without having Beca to ground her. Beca had always kept her together, and it was no different then.

"I love you," Chloe said into Beca's shoulder.

"You're my world," Beca replied simply, making Chloe sigh and finally relax her arms.

Beca moved so that she was no longer on top of Chloe but instead was lying next to her on her back, their arms and legs touching. Chloe brought herself back under control, struggling to calm her breathing.

"Bec, that was…wow."

Beca glanced at her. "Yeah? I'm glad. I wanted you to feel good."

Chloe nodded back, smiling warmly. It had felt absolutely perfect. Now, though, she wanted to show Beca how much she loved her rather than tell her.

Sitting up, Chloe turned and swung a leg over Beca, settling down over Beca's hips. Beca blinked up at her in surprise at the sudden motion.

"Oh, it's okay if you don't want to, I can wait or, like –"

Chloe leaned down to silence her with a kiss. "I really, really want to," she murmured against Beca's lips, delighting in the sharp intake of breath her words elicited. "Are you okay with that?"

Beca's hands found purchase on her back as she twitched under Chloe. "I mean. If you insist."

With a grin, Chloe moved her hips against Beca, pressing down, trying to replicate what Beca had done earlier that had made her feel so good. She seemed to be doing okay; Beca whined and tried to lift her own hips into Chloe but was held in place by Chloe's weight.

Smile widening, Chloe started trailing her lips and flicking her tongue over Beca's neck and down her chest, again mimicking what Beca had done for her. She felt Beca's hands move to stroke at her shoulders and an idea popped into her head.

She instantly moved her mouth to Beca's breast, attempting to flick and nudge with her tongue, sucking lightly. Hands wound into her hair, though not too tightly, and she marveled that Beca was being mindful of her even then. She listened to the heavenly sounds Beca made to judge what she liked the most, then switched to the other side to practice her technique all over again. She was fascinated by Beca and loved the taste of her skin, which was even better than she had imagined it to be.

After a while, she became aware of knees on either side of her and wondered dimly when Beca had opened to her. It didn't really matter, though, because hips were rising to meet hers and Beca was suddenly pressing up and pulling her down and saying her name over and over. Chloe knew exactly what she wanted. She could never deny Beca for long.

Removing her mouth from Beca's chest, Chloe looked up and was astounded to see how flushed Beca looked already, her pupils totally blown. Chloe almost stopped everything she was doing right then, distracted by the knowledge that Beca wanted this so much, that she liked what Chloe was doing. Chloe bit her lip, wanting to ask but unsure how.

"Um, is it okay if… can I take these off you?" she let her fingers trail over the side of Beca's hip, brushing against her underwear.

"Yep, anytime now," Beca puffed back, blinking up at Chloe in a daze.

"Okay, um," Chloe said, slightly nervous again as she moved off Beca and hooked her thumbs under the waistline of the garment. "Same as earlier, for you. If something isn't what you want, or if you change your mind…"

A hand landed lightly on her wrist before Chloe could start pulling down, and she looked up to meet Beca's intense stare. "I trust you," Beca said calmly.

Chloe's nerves drained away to be replaced with near-ecstasy. When she'd first met Beca, she'd been an angry loner with walls higher than the Empire State. Yet, somehow, she'd reached that moment, about to become naked under Chloe's hands. Beca's trust meant the world to her,

Coming back to herself, Chloe nodded, reassured, and Beca's hips lifted as she slowly slid the underwear down her legs and off. Perhaps selfishly, she took her time and enjoyed the moment. She'd thought about doing that so many times and now she was actually doing it. Her movements seemed almost surreal as she cast the fabric down to the floor.

Like Beca had done with her, Chloe took time to look over Beca's body, admiring every curve, every freckle, the lines of her tattoos, even the small birthmark that she didn't know existed on Beca's left hip. Her eyes finally reached Beca's face, and she almost flinched under the immense amount of love she saw reflected back at her.

Not wanting, or not able, to wait another second, Chloe positioned herself to settle comfortably between Beca's legs. Now that they were both bare, feeling Beca pressed against her was otherworldly. They both sighed and whimpered at the contact, Chloe experimentally wiggling into Beca, able to feel how ready Beca was. It was intoxicating.

She leaned down to snare Beca's lips in her own, kissing her carefully while moving her hips, wanting Beca to understand how much she meant to her. Beca's hands stroked up and down her back, her nails running lightly over the skin and making her shiver.

They moved together, kissing, for a few moments before Chloe desperately needed more. She needed to touch. Shifting her weight to an elbow, she slowly trailed a hand down Beca's body, brushing over the peak of a breast and making Beca arch into her again. She felt the warm skin of Beca's stomach under her fingertips, then down, down, until her fingers met softness, tracing over the line, waiting for permission to continue.

Continuing their kiss, which had become somewhat sloppy on Chloe's part as her focus was elsewhere, Beca merely hummed her consent and Chloe knew she was okay to keep going. Excitement and curiosity filling her mind, Chloe allowed her hand to continue its journey until the first sensation of slick heat met her fingertips.

Beca broke their kiss with a gasp at the touch and Chloe looked down at her face before allowing her fingers to feel and explore. Beca felt amazing against her hand, all warmth and soft wetness, and Chloe felt momentary guilt at making her wait this long. She watched Beca's expression carefully as she glided her fingers up, around, down, and up again, memorizing every crease between her brows and clench of her jaw. Beca's eyes had closed when she'd first moved against her, but Chloe could see them moving under her eyelids.

She found what she was searching for quickly, tightly circling the bundle of nerves with a finger before trailing away and back. She'd liked when Beca had done that for her, so she tried to make Beca feel the same way. Wanting to know what would happen, she experimentally touched the nub fully and pressed gently.

Beca sucked in a huge gulp of air, her hips flying upward and dropping back down with a deep moan, but not until Chloe was sure she had scratches on her shoulders now as well.

Hmm. Interesting.

She needed more.

"Can I…?" she trailed off as her hand dropped lower, a finger circling.

"God, Chlo, yes, just, yes," Beca panted, her eyes tightly screwed shut.

Chloe bit her lip in concentration and slowly slid her middle finger into heat. She knew she'd done the right thing when Beca's hands dropped to pull on her backside, urging her in further.

Okay. She could do that.

She took stock of things, then carefully added her index finger, curling and moving in and out like Beca had for her. Beca threw her head back against the pillow so hard that her throat was completely exposed; Chloe couldn't resist placing a feathery kiss on it as she continued moving her hand.

Beca felt unbelievable against her hand. Chloe had never experienced anything like it, the warmth around her fingers, feeling Beca's muscles tighten and relax. She focused all her energy on copying what Beca had done, taking the time to understand Beca's reactions. A twist this way drew a gasp, a press here made Beca moan, this speed made her claw at her back while this other one made her arch up. Chloe was learning what Beca needed from her and she had never felt so captivated by another person.

Except. It was taking a lot longer than she thought it would. She knew it had been quite a while already from the burn in her forearm and the tension in her hand. Everything she did seemed to make Beca feel good, but it still wasn't enough yet.

"Is this working?" she asked hesitantly, wondering if Beca needed her to do something else.

"Yeah, it's just…" Beca's eyes fluttered open to look at her. "Sometimes, it takes a while. I'm sorry, it's not you."

Chloe frowned lightly. "Don't apologize, we'll get there together, okay?"

Beca looked at her gratefully, allowing her eyes to slide closed again.

Okay. Chloe could do this. She'd just have work a little harder at it. "Let me know if you need me to switch it up at all," she told Beca.

She tried for a while longer, moving in and out, pressing, twisting her palm to brush Beca's bud, swiveling her hips more. She was sweating, but so was Beca, so she figured it was okay. She started to feel bad about how long it was taking. Beca had managed to take care of her so quickly…

But then, Beca's noises began to run together until an intelligible slew of sounds fell from her mouth. Chloe moved faster, pressing harder, and she felt how close Beca was. Only a few more seconds…

"Can you…" Beca gasped brokenly, snagging her attention immediately. "Can you – try, like – Chlo, ah – wiggling around – down there."

Chloe obliged immediately, rapidly fluttering her fingers, moving them in a figure eight, and swiveling into Beca harder. Instantly, Beca's hands gripped onto her back, her muscles tensed, and she arched up. Without thought, Chloe dropped to press her lips to Beca's neck and that's when she felt it happen.

Beca's mouth fell open with a cry and she rocked into Chloe repeatedly. Chloe could only stare, enthralled, keeping her hand against Beca to help her ease down.

It was probably the best moment of Chloe's life.

When Beca finally relaxed beneath her, she gently pulled her hand away, causing Beca's eyelids to flutter. Navy eyes stared up into hers and Beca reached to pull her down into a searing kiss. She was surprised by the fervor with which Beca kissed her but returned it excitedly.

"Was that good?" she asked once they had to break for air.

Beca smiled at her and replied, "Yeah, I'd say that was pretty top notch. You?"

Chloe rolled off to lay beside Beca again and replied, "I think I went to heaven a few times."

Beca laughed, a contagious sound that had Chloe following along a moment later. Chloe knew happiness must have been oozing out of her; she absolutely adored that she and Beca could go from serious to laughing so easily.

After their laughter faded, they lay there quietly. Chloe relived every second of the night in her head. She was looking forward to repeating it as much as possible.

"Can I try something?" Beca's voice, stronger than she had been expecting, cut over the sound of her memories and the music still crooning out of Beca's speaker.

Chloe rolled to her side to get a better look at Beca, who remained flushed in the face and chest, her hair a mess, and her eyes still impossibly dark. The mere sight of her sent a new wave of heat shooting between Chloe's legs.

"Sure," she replied easily. "That's what we're doing with all this, right?"

Beca smiled back at her, looking so open and happy that it made Chloe's heart throb. God, she loved Beca.

"True," Beca agreed. "Let me just…" and she reached an arm forward to push at Chloe's shoulder, guiding her until she was once again on her back with Beca hovering over her, hands on either side of her head and legs straddling her hips. Involuntarily, Chloe's hips bucked upward and into Beca, almost throwing her off balance.

Laughing at the near mishap, Beca leaned down to say into Chloe's ear, "Trying to throw me off the bed again?"

"Sorry..." mumbled Chloe, slightly embarrassed at her body's reaction to Beca being on top of her.

"It's okay," Beca said softly, brushing a hand over the side of Chloe's face. "It's a big turn on."

Before Chloe could even breathe, Beca moved down to her forearms, their chests pressed together, and began to trail open-mouth kisses from her ear down her jaw. Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, her hands flying to Beca's back again to grasp at the soft skin she found there. When Beca's mouth dropped from her jaw to her neck, she couldn't stop the whimper that escaped from her throat as she ran her fingertips over Beca's back, feeling the small scratches she'd already left there.

Beca tensed above her for a moment, then breathed a little laugh and a broken, "God, Chlo, you're going to be the death of me."

"How do you think I feel?" Chloe managed before Beca's lips came crashing down on hers again, their tongues immediately meeting. Chloe's hands skimmed up over Beca's back, moving to grip her shoulders as their kiss continued. Beca eventually brought it to a gentle end, slowing her pace and leaving pecks on Chloe's lips. It drove Chloe absolutely wild, how Beca controlled the situation so cleanly. How she ever worried she'd disappoint Chloe was beyond understanding, and they were barely getting started as far as she was concerned.

"I love you," Beca whispered against her lips. "So, so much."

Chloe opened her eyes to see Beca's stunningly dark ones staring down at her, full of love and sincerity, and Chloe's entire body ached under the intensity. She had to hold back tears again, her heart so full that it was borderline painful.

"I love you, too," she replied. "You're my forever."

Beca smiled tenderly at her before leaning down again to kiss her face, moving from her lips to her nose to her forehead.

"Now that we're clear on that," Beca said huskily, "If I could try…?" and she ground her hips down against Chloe's.

"Yes…" Chloe groaned, arching into Beca. "God, yes."

Beca shifted above her, once again placing one knee high between her legs. Chloe throbbed in anticipation, and Beca started rocking into her slowly.

"Okay," Beca said, "if this isn't what you want, or if something isn't right, tell me right away, yeah?"

Chloe nodded rapidly, amazed that Beca could speak so conversationally while doing _that_.

Beca again lowered herself over Chloe, maintaining the thrust of her hips as she kissed her slightly sore lips gently, carefully. Her mouth moved down Chloe's neck and left collarbone, leaving a trail of fire where it had touched. Beca continued, down Chloe's chest until she reached the swell of her left breast.

Chloe waited, while Beca paused over her. She could hardly breathe already and Beca had barely touched her. She felt like she'd never had relief. How was she going to survive –

Without warning, Beca's mouth descended and surrounded the peak of her breast, her tongue flicking and nudging its tip. Chloe moaned and her hands moved to the back of Beca's neck and into her hair, holding her in place. All the while, Beca's hips continued their swiveling.

With barely a break, Beca switched to her other breast and Chloe arched into her again, desperate for more contact. She lifted her hips into Beca, trying to make her point. Beca's eyes flicked up to hers even as she continued her ministrations and Beca reached a hand down push at Chloe's leg, opening her to increase the friction.

Chloe's eyes rolled back and she dropped her head to the pillow. God. Beca was amazing. But what had she wanted to try exactly? As far as she could tell, this was basically what they'd already done, but performed with more confidence.

That is, until Beca's mouth left her breast and she began trailing kisses downward, over her stomach, toward her belly button. Chloe's brow wrinkled. Why had Beca stopped rolling into her?

She lifted her head and looked down her body to see Beca backing away from her, moving down their bed, still kissing down her stomach, past her belly button, clearly headed toward…

"Wait!" hissed Chloe, more sharply than she had meant to.

Beca froze immediately, lifting her head from Chloe so they could make eye contact. "Do you want me to stop?" she asked seriously.

"What are you… were you going to –?"

Beca nodded, moistened her lips, and replied, "I mean, yeah, I thought I'd try it. I thought you might like it. I'm so sorry, I guess we never talked about it, and I should have asked before… do you want me to stop?" she repeated.

Chloe exhaled and closed her eyes briefly. She wanted it. She wanted Beca to be _there_ , to do that for her. She'd imagined it countless times before. But…

She reopened her eyes to look down at Beca, who was still frozen, hovering over her lower body.

"It's… okay, it's just that – uh, I'm not sure…" she trailed off, embarrassed.

"Hey," said Beca softly, moving back up and off her body to lay beside her. "I don't have to if you don't want me to. It's something that I thought we'd both like, and I thought would make you feel good. Was I wrong?"

Looking into Beca's wide eyes, Chloe saw that she had scared her by stopping so abruptly. Her throat tightened with anxiety. She needed to explain so that Beca knew she hadn't done anything wrong.

"No, you weren't wrong," Chloe replied slowly. "I think I would like that. It's just… no one has ever done that for me before." She felt her cheeks warm at the admission, humiliated by her lack of experience.

Surprise crossed Beca's face. "No one?" she asked. "Really?"

She could only nod while Beca blinked at her. This was so embarrassing.

"Wait, uh, that came out weird," Beca backtracked rapidly. "I didn't mean – like, it's nothing that you should feel bad about. It's not – I know guys don't always do that. Which is fine, everyone can do what they like with sex stuff, I guess, it's not like everyone has to –"

"Beca," Chloe said firmly, trying to calm her down. Beca stopped rambling at looked at her apologetically, which made Chloe's chest flutter. She was so adorable.

"Sorry," huffed Beca. "It's something I, uh, I read about and thought might be fun?" Her cheeks reddened and Chloe knew she was embarrassed about admitting to researching things beforehand.

Chloe reached out to touch the side of her face, pushing a strand of chocolate hair behind her ear as a silent gesture to continue. There was no reason to be embarrassed, and she told Beca that.

"So, I thought I'd do it for you, because it's something that's supposed to feel good. And I want you to feel good," Beca continued, "And, I've never, you know, uh, performed it before so I can't say if I'll even like it. But I'd like to try. Only if you're okay with it."

The jolt of pure desire that shot through Chloe caught her off guard. She shifted her legs, suddenly really needing some sort of relief, and wondered why she'd even stopped Beca in the first place.

"Okay," she said, looking into Beca's eyes. "Yes. Let's try."

Beca's breathing increased and she scooted close to Chloe, whispering, "Okay. Stop me if you change your mind at any point."

Chloe barely got her agreement out before Beca was on top of her again, straddling one leg with her knee placed high between Chloe's. Beca kissed her lips hard as she began rocking into her, working to wind Chloe up again.

Chloe let herself relax, driving her hips up to meet Beca's, enjoying the rising tension low in her belly. Beca didn't need to build up as much now and they both knew it. She dropped from Chloe's mouth to immediately meet her breasts, licking and sucking lightly. Chloe whimpered, her fingers again finding purchase on Beca's shoulders and in her hair, gripping harder than she meant to but unable to stop.

Beca paused for a moment at looked up at her as she reached a hand down between them, slipping past Chloe's stomach, over her thighs to press delicately at her core. Chloe's entire body jumped at the contact and she knew she was more than ready for Beca.

"Bec," she groaned.

"It's okay," Beca soothed. "I wanted to make sure."

Chloe nodded frantically, knowing what she needed. Beca. Beca's mouth.

Beca removed her hand, placing it beside Chloe's hip for balance as she resumed kissing down her stomach, past her belly button. Finally, Beca had made her way down her body and was sitting up to move off her legs.

"Could you…?" she asked, gesturing to Chloe's legs.

"Oh!" said Chloe. Duh. She immediately scooted further up the bed and parted her legs, giving Beca room to settle between them while still remaining mostly on their bed. Self-consciousness took over briefly when Beca had settled and was suddenly up close and personal with… down there. Chloe was a confident person, but still.

However, her momentary unease evaporated when Beca looked up to make eye contact with her and said, her voice full of awe, "Chlo… you're so beautiful."

With a rush of heat that was like a bolt of lightning, (which Chloe was sure was incredibly obvious to Beca) she suddenly needed Beca to be there.

"Beca," she panted again, "Would you get on with it, please?"

"Right!" replied Beca, "Um, do you wanna, maybe, go like…" and she carefully hooked her arms under Chloe's thighs to rest her hands on her hips.

Chloe's eyes widened and she didn't think she'd ever been so turned on in her life.

"Okay, Beale," said Beca, "Try not to kick me, yeah?"

Chloe fully intended to respond with a sarcastic jibe, she really did, but her brain short-circuited at the feel of Beca's breath on her core. Beca blew on her gently, just for a moment, and it had stunned her to silence. With one more glance up at her, Beca scooted up even closer, opened her mouth, then –

"Oh my God."

Chloe moaned loudly at the first swipe of Beca's tongue up through her and to the little bundle of nerves at the top. Beca hummed in response as she repeated the motion.

"You taste so good," Beca groaned into to her, making Chloe's hips buck up, begging for more contact, only to be held in place by Beca's hands.

"You – ah – that's – you feel – good," Chloe managed to choke out as Beca continued her movements. This was so different from what they'd done before, much more intimate. Beca was everywhere, her tongue flattening and sweeping, then lightly flicking, not yet finding a set rhythm.

Chloe felt like she was floating somewhere up above her body, watching this happen from Cloud Nine, as Beca continued, relentless. Chloe had no memory of how it happened, but her heels had crossed over on Beca's back, trying instinctively to draw her closer. One hand had tangled its way into Beca's hair, and she knew she was pulling too hard, but she wasn't sure how to stop. Her other hand knotted into the bedsheets, tightening and relaxing with Beca's every motion.

She was nearly thrown over the edge when she picked up her head to look right into Beca's eyes. Knowing that Beca had been watching her, gauging her reaction, almost did the job right then. That it was Beca doing this, Beca the love of her life, Beca, whose tongue danced on and sometimes in her, drove her wild.

"That's – ah – Bec – I'm almost –"

Beca redoubled her efforts, holding more firmly to Chloe's hips and her tongue sweeping and flicking more rapidly, finally moving with regular purpose. Chloe writhed, desperate, panting, needing some kind of release or she was going to die – and then Beca closed her lips over Chloe's sensitive skin and sucked and Chloe was _gone_.

She knew she yelled. She knew she had kicked into Beca's back slightly like she'd been warned not to. She knew her thighs had clamped around Beca, holding her there, rocking into her. And she knew that she hadn't felt anything like it in her life.

When Chloe finally relaxed, she immediately dropped her legs, releasing Beca. However, Beca didn't seem in any hurry to move; she gave a few more long, slow licks, chuckling softly as Chloe shuddered and whimpered at each one, before finally sitting up to wipe her mouth and crawl her way up the bed to lay beside Chloe.

Chloe lay, breathing hard and staring at the ceiling. She knew Beca was watching her, a satisfied grin on her face. Damn her cockiness.

After a moment, Beca said into the semi-darkness, "So… that was okay?"

Chloe turned her head to look at Beca in disbelief. "Okay?!" she half-shouted. "Are you sure you've never done that before?"

Beca smirked at her and slid closer, leaning against her side. She propped her head on one hand to look down at Chloe, her other hand coming to rest gently over Chloe's stomach. "Never," she said. "But I might have read some tips."

"Holy shit," Chloe breathed. "I think we can add that to the list. For future reference," she said, looking into Beca's face.

Beca nodded solemnly. "Noted."

"Good. Now come here."

She reached out a hand to Beca's face, guiding her down into a searing kiss.

When they finally broke away, Chloe traced her index finger down Beca's cheek and jaw, caressing her face. "God, I love you," she whispered, "So much."

Sunlight seemed to wash over Beca's expression in the dim room and Chloe couldn't remember ever seeing Beca look so blissfully happy as she did in that moment.

Then, because she's Beca, she ruined it by saying, "I knew you only wanted me for my body."

Chloe snorted and shoved her away by the shoulder. "Yeah, that's it," she said sarcastically. "You figured it out."

Beca grabbed her own chest, pretending to be hurt, which made Chloe laugh again and roll her eyes. Their legs brushed together, giving Chloe flashbacks to what it felt like to have Beca's mouth on her. She bit her lip, thinking. She'd love to do that for Beca. She wanted to taste Beca so badly that it hurt.

With a pang, she realized that Beca must be desperate, waiting for her. "Bec! I'm so sorry, you must be dying, I'm being so selfish!" she exclaimed, turning to look at Beca, mad at herself for neglecting Beca's needs.

"What?" asked Beca, looking utterly bewildered. "Why?"

"Well…" said Chloe slowly, confused. "Don't you want me to return the favor?"

She felt Beca stiffen and knew immediately by her stricken expression that she'd said the wrong thing.

"Chlo, it wasn't a _favor_ ," Beca said urgently. "I wasn't expecting you to do it for me just because I did it for you."

Chloe's eyebrows raised in surprise; she'd never had someone do something for her in the bedroom without expecting something in return.

"Yeah, don't feel like you have to make it even, or whatever," Beca continued. "Seriously, I wanted to make you feel good. Just because I… look, I didn't do it because I wanted you to do it for me. That didn't even cross my mind, honestly. I did it because I wanted to do it for you."

Yet again, Chloe's being filled with love for Beca and at the realization that everything Beca had done for her so far had been just that – for her. Never had anyone treated her with so much respect and love, and Chloe found herself wondering exactly what she'd ever done to deserve Beca.

"Besides," added Beca, "is that even something you're comfortable with? Because I get it, it's kinda weird the first time, and if you never want to do it, that's completely fine!"

Chloe jumped in, needing to reassure Beca. "No, I do want to!"

Beca looked at her intently and said, "I don't want you to do it for me because you feel like you have to. I want you to want to do it."

"Trust me, I do! I really, really do," replied Chloe eagerly.

"Okay, then," said Beca, apparently satisfied that Chloe wasn't feeling pressured. "But, if it's okay, I'd prefer if we didn't tonight."

"Oh." The air rushed from Chloe's lungs and she knew her hurt had flashed over her face before she could control her expression. She didn't understand why Beca had said no. Did she think that because this would be her first time with it that she couldn't do it well enough?

Beca reached out to touch her face and said quickly, "No, wait, it's not you! I promise, it's not you. It's just, I'm not sure I could, you know..."

Chloe raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding.

Beca sighed impatiently, and Chloe knew she was struggling with her words. She waited, wanting Beca to be able to express what she wanted to.

"Okay," Beca started again, slowly. "I'm, like, honestly worn out. And, you know, it took me a while to, uh, finish before, and I'm not sure I'd be able to right now. This has already been perfect with you, and I want it to end with a bang. So to speak," Beca said wryly, smirking. "Is that okay?" she added.

Chloe nodded back thoughtfully. She understood now what Beca was worried about, though privately she didn't think it would have been an issue. However, she wasn't going to force anything on Beca, obviously. Sure, she was a little disappointed, but she could wait as long as Beca needed. Beca's comfort was her priority.

"Of course, that's okay," Chloe responded. "We don't have to."

"Don't get me wrong, I definitely want to," Beca shifted on the bed. "Um, yeah, really, really want to. Just, not now?"

"And I really want to for you. Later?" Chloe clarified.

"Yeah. Thanks for not pushing it. Um, if I've left you all worked up, I can help that out?" Beca asked somewhat awkwardly.

Chloe was tempted. But Beca was right; their night had already been perfection, and they had the entire weekend. Actually, they had their entire lives, because as far as Chloe was concerned, what they had was permanent.

"I'm good," she replied.

"Okay. In the morning?" Beca asked, sounding hopeful. "I bet by then, I could…"

Chloe's mouth went dry at the thought. "Definitely in the morning," she replied eagerly.

If she had it her way, they were going to practice and practice until she could get Beca there as quickly as Beca had gotten her there. She fully intended to dedicate her life to learning all of Beca's tics.

Beca hummed and moved toward Chloe, poking her until she'd turned on her side facing away from Beca. An arm found its way under her pillow and another appeared around her waist to give a gentle tug, pulling her into the center of their bed and flush against Beca's front.

Lips pressed against the side of her neck and grazed the shell of her ear, making Chloe shiver. Beca only held her more securely as she whispered, "I love you, too, and I promise, I'm never letting go."

Even though she knew Beca couldn't see it, a smile overtook Chloe's face. Her heart was lighter than air, a balloon rising in her chest, full of contentment, joy, and an overall sense of rightness. She pushed herself further back into Beca until they were touching as though fused together along their entire bodies. Beca hummed in contentment, pressing one last kiss to linger against her still-bare shoulder.

She and Beca had been through so much to get to where they were. Chloe wasn't sure she believed in soul mates, but she did believe that she and Beca were always meant to be together. That belief had been at her essence for the past five years, and it was why she would have waited for Beca forever.

As she felt herself drifting to sleep, lulled by the feel of Beca's fingers tracing lightly over her stomach and by soft puffs of air on the back of her neck and shoulders, Chloe could only think one thing.

 _Finally_.


	10. Amy's Limit

**From Tumblr prompt "Stop being so cute." - I decided to add it to this series, in which (you guessed it) PP3 doesn't exist. This follows established Bechloe after the events of "Reality." Can also stand on its own.**

* * *

Amy **knew** this would happen. She just knew it. In a way, she could only blame herself.

After all, she was the one who'd started the whole "Bloe" thing. She'd known for years how in love with each other those two were and had been trying her hardest to get them to see it. It had been her idea, too, to force Beca and Chloe to share a bed when they moved to New York.

And, when Chloe had "secretly" flown to LA to yell at the stupid puppy after he dumped Beca (really, Chloe was never good at hiding things – thankfully, Beca was the most oblivious newt Amy had ever met) she'd managed to talk to Beca and get her to realize what everyone else had known for years. Sure, Chloe had mega crazy eyes ("Crazy beautiful," Beca had said when Amy mentioned it) and was super intense, but anyone could see that she loved Beca. Beca just had to figure out her own feelings. With Amy's help, and some alcohol, by the end of that weekend, Amy knew they had a chance. When Chloe came back from "not LA," Operation Bloe was a go again. Amy had known it would only be a matter of time after that. And it was.

Really, Amy knew that without her, those two oblivious idiots never would have gotten together.

And, okay, maybe she should have known better than to appear without warning in the apartment they all shared. Especially following the weekend Beca and Chloe had basically set aside for sex. Honestly, those two had been completely ridiculous about the whole thing. Amy had never seen anything like it; the extent to which they prepared for The Big Smash was alarmingly methodological. Seriously, would a little spontaneity have killed them? Amy didn't think so. How they managed to stave off the tension that had been building for more than five years for all that **planning** , she couldn't comprehend.

That didn't matter really, though. The point was that they finally got around to it, woo hoo. Thankfully, Amy had planned on being gone the weekend of their Friday date night (though why those two called it "date night" rather than "we're totally just gonna bone night" was beyond her.) But she had to go back eventually – it was her house too, for god's sake – and if they had broken anything important she would most certainly not be paying for it.

Sure, maybe she should have called or texted or smoke signaled or **something** to let them know she'd be back on Sunday evening. But she didn't, because she figured they'd have realized she had to be back eventually.

So, in a way, she knew that what she walked in on was entirely her fault.

Well, not entirely. They could have put a sock on the door or something similarly classy. But still.

It had been quite a shock – no, a trauma – to have lugged her insanely heavy suitcase up the stairs (those aca-lesbos could have helped – isn't at least one of them supposed to be really stereotypically fit?), fumbled around with her keys, and opened the door to see them. Beca and Chloe. Chloe and Beca. Her roommates and close friends, doing something she'd hoped she'd never have to witness.

They had been there, in the middle of the kitchen, shamelessly in view for her and the entire world to see, dancing – actually dancing! – to an up-tempo song as they made dinner.

It made her shudder just thinking about it.

How was it humanly possible for two people to be so disgustingly, abhorrently cute together?

She stood in the doorway, unable to look away, like viewing a horrific car accident. It took them a while to notice her, too. If she'd been a wild dingo, she easily could have attacked without warning.

Several seconds passed before Beca finally saw her, stopped dancing, and called out, "Amy! You're back!" in the most chipper voice Amy had ever heard her use. Beca Mitchell, being chipper. Amy thought she'd never see the day.

Chloe turned as well and sent her a beaming smile, practically glowing. Ew.

"Woah, woah, woah," Amy said, lifting her hands to shield her eyes. "Too much exposure there. Warn a girl."

Peeking out from between her fingers, Amy saw Beca and Chloe break apart, though Beca's arm remained slung low around Chloe's hips.

"We're just dancing," Beca said, as if what they'd been doing hadn't been a risk to public health.

"Doesn't mean I want to see it," Amy replied, turning to drag her suitcase into the apartment behind her.

"Sorry, Amy," said Chloe, leaning her head into Beca's shoulder briefly, "but this is what it's gonna be like from now on."

Oh God. Amy froze on her journey between the front door and her side of the apartment/room. If she had to come home to that every day… Well. She wouldn't be living there for much longer. Or maybe they wouldn't.

"Listen," she said, resuming her path and lifting her luggage onto her bed to begin unpacking, "at least warn me before there's any funny business. And no sex while I'm here," she added urgently.

Beca wrinkled her nose, but Chloe looked thoughtful as she turned back to the dinner they were making. A chill trickled down Amy's spine and she was overcome with foreboding. Surely, they wouldn't dare?

Amy grimly continued unpacking her suitcase, wondering if, in her quest to get Beca and Chloe together, she'd created a monster.

* * *

Time spent with them for the following week only confirmed Amy's worst fears. She was being tortured, slowly and mercilessly, by unending, nauseating displays of cute.

She didn't understand why they always had to be touching. **Always**. The Beca Amy used to know hated touching, but this version of Beca often initiated physical contact with Chloe. And, okay, Chloe had always been the exception to Beca's "hands off" rule, but this was to a whole new level. Whether it be a hand on a back, an arm around shoulders, or even a touch as they passed each other in the apartment, they were always in contact.

Amy almost threw up when Chloe pushed a lock of hair behind Beca's ear for her.

Sure, Amy was happy for them. She really, truly was. Despite Beca's moody, hermit-like tendencies and Chloe's occasional crazy eyes, those two were perfect together. She'd never seen either of them happier. And she'd been beyond tired of waiting with bated breath with the rest of the Bellas for something to finally break the tension between those two. Anyone looking at them could see how completely in love with each other they were, even before they admitted it themselves.

However, that didn't mean she had to see it all the time. At some point, it all reached a "too much" stage. And sure, Amy knew she could be a little too open about her own exploits (look, Bumper really was a superb roll in the hay), but she wasn't really into PDA or cute displays. She'd talk about it all day, maybe, but actually do it in front of someone? No. (Well, there was that one time at the Treble lake house, but other than that, her record was completely clean.)

Amy could handle a lot. But the cuteness (bleh) between her two roommates was becoming excessive. Then, suddenly, it reached a new high (or low, depending on perspective) following one of their dates.

Beca and Chloe came bursting through the front door late on a Saturday evening, holding hands (though how they'd managed to maintain connection up the narrow stairs was beyond Amy) and smiling at each other like total idiots.

"What's up, aca-lesbos?" Amy asked casually.

"Amy, neither of us is actually lesbian," Beca said, her usual response to such things.

"Details," Amy sighed tiredly.

Chloe rushed forward and Amy flinched a little – when a Ginger runs, it's never a good sign.

"Amy, look at what happened!" she exclaimed excitedly, holding out a little box presumably containing jewelry.

Amy's stomach swooped and she stared at Beca. "If that's a ring –" she started.

"It's not a ring!" Beca exclaimed, looking a little pink.

Amy exhaled in relief and returned her attention to Chloe, who was also rather pink but didn't look appalled by the idea of a ring. "What is it, then?" she asked nervously.

"Beca and I accidentally bought each other the same pair of earrings for our date!" Chloe said excitedly, practically bouncing in place as she opened the jewelry box to display small gold hoop earrings.

"Very couple-y," Amy said as she looked beyond Chloe to see Beca holding an identical pair of earrings. "Kind of creepy, to be honest."

"Oh, whatever," Beca said at the same time Chloe chirped, "Thanks!"

Amy smiled a little then; even she had to admit that unintentionally buying the same gift for each other was too perfect. "You guys are really something else, you know?"

She meant it as a compliment, though her fingers were already twitching to open the Bellas group chat and tell everyone about this alarmingly adorable development.

"We should put them on each other," Chloe suggested, turning to Beca.

"Oh, good idea," Beca replied eagerly.

Amy rolled her eyes, wondering if a person's eyes could actually get stuck from rolling them all the time. If so, she was in trouble. Why hadn't they put the earrings on each other during the date? They were so weird.

She looked away as Beca and Chloe approached each other, each looking at the other tenderly. Amy knew she'd been forgotten for the moment. She sighed, leaning back on her bed as the sound of soft giggles continued, and opened the Bellas group chat (minus Beca and Chloe) to share the update.

After a few minutes, the laughter got louder; it seemed that the two lovebirds had started a tickle fight. Deplorable. Amy closed the chat and instead opened a new search tab, searching for cheap apartments in New York.

* * *

"Hey, did you hear about the big news today?"

Amy, reading on her bed, looked up from her book at the sound of Beca's unusually (as of late) serious tone. She and Chloe were sat at the kitchen table together while Beca worked on a mix – or something, whatever it was she did – for work.

"No," replied Chloe, scooting even closer to Beca. "What happened?"

"Well, you know NASA? Like, the space group?"

Chloe nodded.

"So, apparently they've invented a new kind of rocket," Beca said, looking far too excited about the news, at least in Amy's opinion.

"Yeah?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah," repeated Beca. "So, you know how when rockets go up, the back half, like the thrusters, that bit breaks off?"

Amy sighed. She had an idea of what might be happening here, but Chloe remained enthralled.

"Sure," Chloe nodded, oblivious.

"Well," said Beca, "this new kind of rocket splits vertically down the center."

Chloe's expression remained confused, so Beca said, "Here, let me show you."

She put her palms together, fingers aligned and pointed upward like she was high-fiving herself. "The rocket goes up…" and she moved her hands up in the air like a rocket launching, "and splits…" she separated her hands, "and comes down." Beca reached one arm around Chloe to land on her far shoulder, tugging her into her side. Chloe laughed in delight, snuggling closer into a grinning Beca.

Amy rolled her eyes so hard she thought she felt her retinas detach. That had been quite possibly the lamest pickup line she'd seen. Ever.

Amy grit her teeth. She reached for a huge pile of mail with her name on it, figuring that opening several months' worth of accumulation would be a good distraction from the frightening display her roommates were putting on.

She could handle this. It was just another cute overload.

* * *

Except she couldn't handle it. Amy broke on a Tuesday.

The three of them were going to get ice cream at their favorite little shop, walking down the Brooklyn sidewalk and enjoying the warm summer day.

She ignored it when Beca purposefully switched places with Chloe on the sidewalk, putting herself between Chloe and the crazy New York traffic. She ignored it when Chloe opened the ice cream shop door for Beca, ushering her in first. She even ignored how they ordered for each other at the counter (caramel pecan for Beca, strawberry for Chloe).

She couldn't ignore it, though, when they fed each other the ice cream off their own spoons. In public, no less!

"Stop being so cute!" she burst out, startling Beca so much that she dropped the spoon she'd been about to steer into Chloe's mouth.

"Amy, what –" Chloe started while Beca swore loudly and ducked under the table to retrieve the utensil.

"Ohhh, no," Amy said, waving her arms, "don't pretend to be clueless! Enough! I can't handle this!" she yelled, catching the attention of others in the shop.

Beca and Chloe blinked at her in confused silence.

"You two are so disgustingly, repulsively **cute** that it makes me want to die. I get it, together you're Bloe, and that's aca-amazing or whatever, but it's a lot, okay?"

"Amy –" Beca said, reaching out a hand.

"And so," Amy plowed on, ignoring her, "I have done some apartment shopping and have found you a new place to live. I'm kicking you out."

"You can't just –"

"Yes! I can! I don't need to see it anymore! I don't like walking in on you!"

"We haven't been –"

"That's why I found you the perfect place, right across the hall," Amy finished grandly, crossing her arms.

"Across… the hall?" Chloe asked slowly.

"Yeah, well, you still need to see my sexy ass, I just don't need to see your –"

"What about rent?" Beca interrupted ( **rude** ), "Can you handle –"

"For your information, I recently started opening my mail as a way to hide from you two," Amy said, insulted by the shock that filled both Beca and Chloe's expressions at her pronouncement. "As it turns out, I have a nice sum in the Cayman Islands that will take care of my rent. So, there's nothing to it. I expect you two to move out as soon as possible."

Beca and Chloe stared at her mutely as she took a huge scoop of her ice cream (chocolate), feeling immensely satisfied with herself.

"Well… okay," Beca said after a minute, glancing at Chloe.

"Good," Amy nodded once.

She felt kind of bad for kicking them out. Kind of. But not really. They needed their own space now that Bloe was real.

Besides, Amy only had herself to blame for getting to this point, after all.

She wouldn't change a single thing.


	11. Winter Dreams (Beca's Song)

**Pure Christmas fluff for Bechloe's first Christmas together in this series. Takes place after the events of Amy's Limit.**

 **Title stolen from Kelly Clarkson's "Winter Dreams (Brandon's Song)," which elements of this fic are loosely based off of. I recommend listening to the song if you haven't heard it!**

* * *

Chloe wakes slowly to the feel of featherlight touches trailing down her bare back. She's lying on her stomach, face pressed into the pillow and turned toward the person sprawled next to her, one arm down at her side, and the other curled under her chest. She's cozy and comfortable, and not at all ready to wake up yet.

She keeps her eyes closed and allows herself to simply exist.

She feels Beca's warm and reassuring presence beside her, feels where the mattress dips to make room for her form. She hears Beca's steady and calming breaths, feels where each exhale stirs the air over her shoulders; she pictures Beca propped up on an elbow and watching her as her other hand strokes lightly between Chloe's shoulder blades. It's not weird – Chloe has watched Beca sleep so many times that it's not at all strange for Beca to be watching her now.

Beyond the warm cocoon of their bed, the apartment around them is quiet and still. Moving across the hall from Amy had been the best decision Amy had ever made for them. Their new apartment is still small, basically a mirror image of the old one they'd shared with Amy, but now they have an actual double bed to themselves instead of a crappy pull-out couch bed.

The soft hum of their refrigerator permeates the quiet, accompanied by the gentle whooshing of heat pouring through the apartment's vents. Beca's bedside clocks ticks the seconds away, and the telltale slosh of the pipes betrays the water running in the apartment next to theirs.

The scent of pine, mixed with the vanilla of Beca's lotion, wafts over the entire apartment and makes Chloe drowsy again. She takes a deep breath, both to take in the smell and to let Beca know she's awake. The gentle fingers over her back don't stutter in their motion, only continue to lightly trace her skin, gliding up and down along her spine.

The touch brings memories of the night before, of needy kisses, of soft whimpers and sharp gasps, of lips pressed to bare skin, and of limbs tangled together; memories that make Chloe's body heat up and heart beat faster in her chest. She stretches out her limbs slowly and takes another deep breath. The touch on her back pauses, and Chloe cracks open her eyes a millimeter to see Beca – propped up on an elbow, like she'd imagined – watching her, deep blue eyes heavy with sleep and a tenderness that makes Chloe's chest ache. Beca's hair sticks up in weird places and a small purple mark dots her porcelain skin just below her collarbone, a proud remnant of the night before.

She's absolutely perfect.

Chloe's lips lift into a small smile of greeting, one that Beca returns. The touch on her back lifts away completely as Beca raises that arm into the air a few inches, an invite to move closer.

Feeling her smile widen even further, Chloe scoots toward Beca, lifting herself from her stomach to instead lie on her side facing Beca. Beca drops from her elbow, sliding that arm under the pillow to recline on the mattress, tangling their legs together when Chloe gets close enough. Beca's other arm wraps around Chloe's back securely and bends, fingers playing with the fine hairs at the base of her neck, and Chloe slides a hand along Beca's sleep-warmed stomach to curl around her ribcage. Chloe burrows in even closer, loving the feeling of their bare skin sliding together. She bows her head to brush her nose along where Beca's neck meets her shoulder, pressing a single kiss against the bruise she'd left the night before.

Settled in Beca's arms, she closes her eyes again and inhales the familiar scent of Beca's skin, contentment filling her chest. Beca's lips press against her forehead lightly before lifting away to rest her chin on the top of Chloe's head. Beca's touch trails over the back of her neck, massaging lightly into her hair.

Chloe exhales slowly through her nose, already feeling herself drifting off to sleep again. If this is a dream, she never wants it to end.

(It's not a dream.)

* * *

When she wakes again, she can tell at least an hour has passed; the apartment feels brighter even with her eyes closed and she can hear more movement and running appliances in the apartments surrounding theirs.

Beca's arms are still wrapped around her securely, though by the way Beca's breathing, she can tell she's asleep or at least dozing. The arm Chloe has sandwiched between them is starting to feel stiff, so she extracts it slowly, careful not to wake Beca. After a moment of indecision, she determines that the only place she can really put it is above her. She raises it to rest her wrist against the top of their wooden headboard, fingers trailing along the windowpane above their bed. The glass is damp with condensation, hinting at the chill outside. Idly, she draws a heart on the foggy glass, perfectly content to wait for Beca to wake.

Pulling away slightly so she can see Beca's peaceful face, she thinks about this time a year ago, when she'd woken up in the same bed as Beca under very different circumstances. They'd been just friends then, and Chloe remembers how she'd struggled with giving anyone a Christmas list for herself when everything she'd wanted had been lying next to her, completely oblivious. If anyone had told her how things would have changed over the year, she never would have believed them.

She wouldn't change a single thing. Not when everything in her life has accumulated to this moment.

Beca's nose wrinkles and she huffs quietly, the puff of air stirring Chloe's hair. Chloe grins to herself when Beca's hand twitches on the back of her neck. It means Beca's starting to wake up. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Beca's nose wrinkles again and her eyes flutter open. Chloe watches as Beca blinks, her eyes struggling to focus at first. When they do, though, Beca smiles sleepily at her, pleased they're awake at the same time.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Chlo," Beca whispers, her voice a little hoarse.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Bec."

Chloe tilts her face up (she doesn't have to move far) to meet Beca's. They share their first kiss of the morning, mouths warm and a little dry from sleep, but Chloe doesn't mind. She only moves closer, sliding her hands into Beca's long hair.

What starts slow soon turns heated and builds into something more, their sleep-laden bodies waking up to the familiar dance. Their movements are languid, assured, and loving, and soon Beca's guiding Chloe onto her back to press even closer.

It's Chloe's favorite way to wake up.

* * *

It's Beca's idea, actually, that they go to Central Park. She suggests it after they've finally gotten out of bed, showered, dressed, and sat down at their (still small) kitchen table for a breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee.

When she says it, Chloe's a little surprised; Beca, wanting to leave their nice, warm apartment in favor of chilly morning air and a few inches of snow on the ground? But then Beca says, "I think it'd be fun to make a snowman together, like last year," and Chloe's surprise melts to nothing but affection for her favorite person in the world. Never mind that last year's attempt had ended somewhat badly; if Beca wants to make a snowman together, who is Chloe to deny her?

They clean up breakfast, then bundle up for the outdoors. New York actually has a white Christmas this year, something neither Chloe nor Beca really got to see growing up. They throw on their winter coats, wrap scarves around the lower half of their faces, tug on mittens (for Chloe) or gloves (for Beca) and jam their feet into clunky snow boots. Despite Beca's, "I feel like the abominable snowman," Chloe has her trudging out the door, past Amy's apartment (currently vacant, as she spends the holidays with "not Bumper"), and down the many steps of their apartment building in no time.

When they arrive, Central Park is less crowded than Chloe thought it would be. She supposes the colder-than-typical weather and holiday, combined with the still relatively early hour, are keeping people at bay. She and Beca had already agreed to steer clear of Rockefeller Center for the next two days because of the crowds, so she's glad Central Park isn't busy. Besides, there are still some decorations in the park, with many trees wrapped in lights, but it's harder to tell in the daytime. Nevertheless, the snow coating the ground and surrounding tree branches like thick, white icing still works to bring Chloe some Christmas spirit.

Beca leads Chloe further into the park, presumably looking for the perfect snowman spot – not that Chloe's entirely sure what that might entail. What does eventually catch her eye, though, is a large patch of untouched, pristine snow covering the ground only a few feet away from the cleared sidewalk. Chloe stops abruptly and stares at it, thinking of something she's only seen other people do but never done herself.

"How d'you… hang on," she cuts herself off, stepping from the sidewalk to sink her boots into several inches of snow as she makes her way to the spot.

"What're you doing?" Beca calls after her, her voice amused.

Chloe reaches her intended destination and turns on the spot to see Beca watching her curiously. With a grin, she kneels, then throws herself backward to land on her back with a satisfying _whoomp_ from the cushioning snow under her.

"Snow angels, Bec!" she shouts gleefully to the sky, flapping her arms through the snow and scissoring her legs side to side.

"Oh, um –"

"Come on, try it!"

There's a pause, but Chloe keeps on making her snow angel. She already knows what's going to happen.

And soon enough, she hears footsteps heading toward her, crunching the snow underfoot. "Okay," Beca agrees, appearing in Chloe's line of vision after a moment. Chloe can only beam up at her; she knows she's the only one Beca would voluntarily throw herself backward into a pile of snow for.

Which is exactly what Beca does a moment later, landing a few feet away from Chloe with a muffled _whoomp_ of her own. Then, Chloe hears the shuffling sound of Beca's limbs moving through the snow. She picks her head up enough to glance over, and there is Beca Mitchell, self-proclaimed badass extraordinaire, lying in Central Park and making snow angels for the whole world to see.

The sight draws a bubbling laugh from deep in Chloe's chest, which only makes Beca look at her and raise an eyebrow questioningly. She doesn't stop moving her arms and legs, though, causing Chloe to laugh even harder until Beca's smiling and laughing right along with her.

And it's a little ridiculous, honestly, when they do carefully climb up from the ground to examine their newly-made snow angels, how much more in love with Beca she feels herself falling with every second.

After staring at their snow angels for a few moments, Beca snaps a quick picture and tugs on Chloe's arm. "Come on, weirdo," she says, "let's go find that snowman spot."

Chloe allows Beca to lead her, arms linked, even further into Central Park. As they walk, the temperature seems to drop further and the clouds above them take on a gray hue. Chloe glances up, trying to remember if it's supposed to snow, when Beca stops abruptly, their linked arms working to drag Chloe to a halt as well.

It's immediately obvious that Beca has found her spot. They've stopped in front of another miraculously untouched patch of snow, this one larger than the one where they'd made the snow angels. By the way Beca grins at it and then turns to her, Chloe knows they'll be there for a while.

She's right.

It takes more than an hour, copious sweating, and a decent amount of swear words for them to have accomplished their goal of snowman creation. If Chloe's honest with herself, she knows it's actually a pretty poorly done snowman; it leans to the side precariously and is really more of a continuous column of snow rather than three separate snow boulders stacked on top of each other. It turns out that making snowmen is harder than it looks in movies, and neither of them has ever really made one beyond their lame attempt last January that had ended in a pile of ruined snow and tears (Beca's). This year, though, they actually manage to keep it upright, and Beca even finds some twigs to use as arms and a few rocks to give it eyes and a smile.

All in all, it's not half-bad, and Chloe finds herself strangely attached to it.

As they stand there admiring their hard work, the first few flakes of snow drift down lazily around them. The flakes are big ones, fluffy and wet, and before long, they're falling heavily. Chloe's just about to suggest they seek shelter and a hot beverage before the weather gets too bad when Beca reaches to touch her arm.

"Wait, stand there for a sec," she urges, pointing at a spot next to the snowman.

Curiously, Chloe moves to where she'd pointed, and turns to see Beca half-jogging away from her. She spins back around when she's a little way away, phone in hand.

"Smile!" Beca calls, raising the phone to take a picture.

Chloe does, and Beca snaps the photo quickly before walking back to join her.

"It's like a snow globe or something," Beca says, showing Chloe the picture of herself standing next to the snowman as white flakes swirl in the air around her.

"Mmm," Chloe hums in agreement, "but you aren't in the picture."

"That's okay, I –"

"Sush," Chloe says, pulling out her own phone. "And smile."

She raises her phone and tugs Beca closer so that they can take a selfie together with the snowman in the background. Chloe has to admit; with their bright eyes, rosy cheeks, and the snowflakes caught in their hair, it does look like something out of a holiday card. She examines the photo happily, already planning to set it as her lock screen.

They spend a few more minutes there, watching the snow fall as the park gradually becomes more crowded with time. Chloe debates scooping up a handful of snow to launch at Beca, but after a while, her toes start to burn with cold and it seems like a good time to leave. Hands linked, they head out of the park and back toward home.

* * *

Chloe curls up in their bed again, blankets wrapped around her securely as Beca stands at the stove, making them both hot chocolate. Beca doesn't cook often – when she does, the fire alarm tends to start squealing – but hot chocolate is her specialty. She uses milk and real chocolate, not powder from a package.

They'd plugged in their Christmas tree, the colored strands of lights wrapped around it throwing a warm glow over the apartment, darkened by the snow still falling outside. It's only a small, plastic tree set up in the middle of their living room, but it's enough; Beca had managed to find pine-scented decorative sticks that she'd hung strategically in the branches among the other ornaments, so that sometimes Chloe forgets it isn't a real tree from the smell alone. A homemade picture ornament showing all of the Bellas has the prime spot on the tree, so it's the first one seen when walking through the door. Another string of multicolored lights hangs around the window above their bed, also plugged in and casting light into the apartment.

The domesticity of it all, of Beca at the stove and Christmas decorations abounding, makes Chloe happier than she can describe. It feels so perfect and right that she again wonders if it's some kind of dream. If it is, she never wants to be woken up.

It can't be a dream, though, because even in her imagination she could never come up with something as wonderful as this.

Beca finishes making the hot chocolate; she turns off the stovetop and walks over, two steaming mugs in hand. She passes Chloe one with a smile.

"Are you still cold?" she asks as she sits on the bed next to Chloe.

Chloe stirs the hot chocolate delicately with the candy cane in the mug (Beca's signature touch), not wanting to splash any of the liquid onto their white bedsheets. She takes a sip, the rich flavor and perfect temperature soothing her and radiating warmth from her stomach to the rest of her body.

"This helps," she replies, licking away the foamy mustache she feels gathered on her upper lip.

"I could make a fire," Beca suggests, placing her own mug on her bedside table and standing up again.

"Uh, what?"

Unless Beca's planning on burning the tree down, Chloe doesn't see how she's going to be able to make any kind of fire. It's a cheap New York apartment; they don't have a fireplace.

Beca doesn't respond but merely waggles her eyebrows and grins mischievously. She reaches for her laptop, opening it and typing something after a couple of seconds of it booting up. She spins it around and rests it at the foot of their bed so Chloe can see the screen. When she does, she rolls her eyes; Beca had pulled up an online video of a yule log fire, complete with softly playing Christmas music in the background.

"You're such a dork," Chloe snorts, because it's true.

"I'm your dork," Beca replies easily, returning to the bed to cuddle into Chloe's side.

"Yeah," Chloe sighs overdramatically, "what did I do to get stuck with you?"

"Just lucky, I guess."

"Very," Chloe murmurs, absentmindedly reaching out one hand. They sit in silence as she first traces the lines of Beca's grasshopper tattoo, then the arch of the headphones inked into her wrist. As she does, Beca leans into her side further to press barely-there, almost ticklish kisses to the side of her neck.

The Christmas music playing from Beca's laptop shifts from Josh Groban's rendition of "O Holy Night" to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." At the change, Beca's lips trail up to land at Chloe's pulse point.

A quiet, "Come dance with me?" is whispered against her skin, lips brushing against her earlobe and making her shiver.

Chloe's heart stutters in her chest as Beca Mitchell somehow manages to sweep her completely off her feet yet again. She bites her lower lip and nods, setting her still-steaming mug off to the side on her own bedside table. Beca winds their fingers together and helps her up from the bed, once again looking at her with so much care that it almost makes Chloe want to look away; it's a cliché, but Beca looks at her like she put the stars in the sky.

They end up standing in the small space between their Christmas tree and their kitchen table. Chloe's right hand lands in Beca's left, and she curls her left arm around Beca's back to rest her hand on a shoulder blade. Beca slides in even closer, her free hand wrapping around Chloe's waist, so that it feels like the most natural thing in the world for Chloe to step forward and rest her chin on Beca's shoulder.

The dance is a slow, pivoting one, the kind where they revolve slowly on one spot. Beca's head tilts against hers briefly, the same vanilla scent of her lotion again grounding Chloe to the fact that this is her life, at home in Beca's arms. Every day, every hour, every minute, and right this second, it sinks in further that Beca is her forever person.

"You love me," she whispers, turning her face into Beca's neck.

She feels Beca nod once as the hand in hers gives a gentle squeeze.

"I do," Beca murmurs, turning to press a kiss to Chloe's temple.

As they continue to dance, Chloe again surveys their small but homey apartment, filled with decorations, pictures of their friends and family, and love. The quiet Christmas music still coming from Beca's laptop, combined with the snow falling outside and the glow of the lights inside creates an image of seclusion.

In that moment, they're the only two people in the world.

"That's good," Chloe breathes into Beca's neck, "because I'm in love with you, too."


	12. Pigtails

**Based on Tumblr prompt- "come over here and make me." Warning for homophobic comments and slurs. This is set the spring after their first Christmas together!**

 **Also, tagging for TINY hint at Staubrey. Like, really, really tiny.**

* * *

Looking around at the multitude of fruit, vegetable, and homemade goods vendors lined up along the aisle, in which flows a sea of strangers, Beca has never been so on edge in her life.

Louisiana is hotter than she'd expected it to be in March, and the outdoor market they're at seems more crowded than it should be for such a small town.

"Where the hell are we?" Beca mutters to Chloe, tugging on her hand to pull her closer. Even after almost a year of dating, the feeling of Chloe's hand in hers still makes Beca's body hum.

"Um, some town that starts with a T," Chloe replies absently, her attention more focused on the beautiful scarves laid out for display on a table next to the walkway. "Or maybe an F. Or L. I don't know, ask Amy."

Beca huffs and cranes her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of Amy, or any of the others, to ask exactly why they'd detoured to an outdoor market in the middle of a park during what was supposed to be a beach vacation. The whole thing had been Aubrey's idea, actually, that they all take off work for a long weekend and get together for some Bella bonding time; by some miracle, they'd all managed it, even Emily, who was on Spring Break.

She finally spots Amy and Aubrey talking to an elderly man selling apples, while Flo and Stacie carefully examine glass sculptures a few stalls beyond them. Lilly has already disappeared into the crowd, probably in search of a weapons vendor of some sort. The rest of the Bellas had decided to continue driving to their hotel rather than stopping. Beca finds herself wishing she'd chosen to ride in their car rather than in the van dictated by Amy.

Beca huffs again and looks forward in time to narrowly avoid being plowed over by a tall man carrying a crate of broccoli. He turns, probably about to apologize for almost killing her, only for the words to get caught in his throat as he does a double-take. His eyes flick down, and Beca instinctively follows his gaze to where her fingers are interlaced with Chloe's.

She looks up again and the man's already turning away, never having apologized. Beca frowns, unsure what had happened there. Before she can say anything to Chloe, though, she's being dragged off in another direction.

"Bec, look at the honey!" Chloe squeals, stopping in front of a table piled high with jars of the stuff.

"Mmm, very nice," Beca replies, more focused on the way the older woman running the stand glares at them. She's wearing a heavy frown and a cross around her neck. Her eyes are fixed on their joined hands.

"Uh, Chlo, maybe –"

"How much for a jar?" Chloe asks the woman, who flinches as if stung.

Chloe's hand twitches in Beca's, but she doesn't pull away. Beca glances at her, but she's just watching the woman expectantly.

The honey seller stares at Chloe for perhaps a second too long before replying. "Just… one jar, or two?" she asks in a tight voice that seems to carry a heavier meaning than the sentence should.

"Just one," Chloe chirps, moving even closer to Beca and momentarily dropping her hand to loop both arms around her waist. "We'll share."

The woman's eyes slam shut, then flutter open a second later. "It's raw honey, so… $7.99." She speaks slowly, as if every word pains her. Her fingers play with the cross at her throat.

Understanding barrels into Beca's mind like a freight train. She lets her own eyes slide closed briefly.

Her stomach fills with hot dread. They're in a rural town in a state known for anti-LGBT attitudes. And they're obviously together. Of course. She'd been stupid; at home in New York, it's so easy to forget. At home, they can touch each other, can hold hands, can kiss in public. At home, they can be _together_.

But not here.

Beca fidgets in Chloe's embrace, unsure how to convey that they have to be more careful – that while they're there, they can only be "just friends," but Chloe only holds her tighter. For the first time ever, Chloe's arms around her feel constrictive.

On a whim, Beca glances at the sign taped to the front of the vendor table to check whether the listed price is the same as the price the woman had said. It is.

"Oh, okay," Chloe says brightly, apparently oblivious to the woman's demeanor. She does have to reclaim her arms from around Beca to dig for her money in her purse, and Beca takes the opportunity to shift away from her girlfriend, every inch between them an unsurpassable wall.

Chloe pays the woman – who is careful not to let their hands touch – and selects a jar of honey with a smile that the vendor doesn't return. Before Beca can resist or pull away, Chloe's hand finds hers again and they're off deeper into the market.

As they walk, the back of Beca's neck prickles with the stares – real or imagined, she isn't sure – of the people around them. Her head swivels, on the lookout for any sign of hostility. Most people around them, either going in the opposite direction or just in their general vicinity, don't spare them any attention. But the more Beca looks, the more she sees: a husband and wife stare openly at them as they walk past, headed back toward the honey vendor; a man selling carrots and peppers scowls at their joined hands; three women waiting in line for a sample of homemade jam watch them, eyebrows raised, and start whispering amongst themselves as Beca and Chloe pass.

The intense scrutiny makes Beca's stomach roll. The edges of her vision turn fuzzy, and a weight settles on her chest, filling her lungs. She's pretty sure the hand holding Chloe's has started sweating.

She loosens her grip on Chloe's hand. "Chloe, maybe we shouldn't –"

Someone bumps into her, ramming into her shoulder with enough force to knock her off balance until Chloe steadies her. She looks around wildly, but whoever did it is already gone, swallowed by the crowd at the market. There's no way it was an accident, not when it had been that forceful.

"Keep up, I don't want to lose you in the crowd," Chloe calls back to her, her hand only tightening on Beca's.

Setting her jaw, Beca holds tight to Chloe; she has a wild desire to protect Chloe from this, to keep Chloe unaware of the simmering anger directed at their conjoined hands. Chloe doesn't need to know; it would only make her sad. They just need to find the others and get out.

Beca looks around, but Amy, Aubrey, Lilly, Stacie, and Flo are nowhere to be seen. Beca hopes that Aubrey and Stacie have the sense to avoid touching too much.

Maybe holding hands isn't enough to give them away. Maybe people just assume they're only friends trying to stay linked in such a busy area. Maybe Beca's imagining the stares.

"Can we buy oranges?" Chloe pulls Beca aside abruptly, pointing at a stall overflowing with the delicious-looking fruit. "They're supposed to be good here I think."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Beca replies, trying to force a smile as she continues to tell herself she's imagining everything.

"Awes!" Chloe beams at her, leaning in to peck her quickly on the lips before Beca can stop her.

It's a quick kiss, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kiss, but it still sends a bolt of white-hot panic firing down Beca's spine.

Ordinarily, kissing Chloe is bliss. This kiss feels like a death sentence.

Beca's eyes fly wide and she chokes out, "We can't –"

Before she can get another word out, Chloe's turning and leading her (by the hand again) toward the oranges. As they walk, Beca locks eyes with an elderly woman headed in the opposite direction; she's glaring with open hostility, brow furrowed and lip curled, and Beca instantly knows she'd seen the kiss. Beside her walks a little girl with her hair in brown pigtails, no older than three or four, the woman's granddaughter maybe. She's also staring, her mouth agape, but her eyes are focused on Chloe.

As Beca watches, the woman and child draw closer and closer, until they're about to bypass each other; the little girl's arm flies out to catch at Chloe's leg. Chloe stops instantly, looking down at the little girl in confusion. Beca stares directly into the old woman's angry eyes, wanting desperately to ask what her problem is, but something large seems to have lodged itself in her throat.

"S'cuse me," the little girl says in a small voice.

"Yes?" Chloe asks, dropping Beca's hand and kneeling to match the girl's height.

Beca holds her breath, _knowing_ the girl is going to ask about them, that she's going to comment on their kiss and call them gross or weird or wrong or any of the far, far uglier words she knows are currently flying through the old woman's mind, and –

The little girl reaches out a tentative hand. "Can I touch your hair?"

Chloe's startled laugh breaks the staring contest between Beca and the girl's grandmother, and both look down.

"Yeah, you can touch my hair if it's okay with…?" Chloe looks up to the old woman questioningly, faltering at the open hostility still on the woman's face. Then little girl looks up, and the woman's face shifts to a more neutral mask. She nods once, stiffly.

The girl's smile turns huge and she reaches a small hand forward to gently brush through the ends of Chloe's red curls. "It's so pretty," she says happily, reclaiming her hand after a moment.

"Thank you," Chloe smiles. "Your hair is pretty, too," she says, gesturing to the girl's brown pigtails. It makes the girl grin shyly, hiding behind a hand.

As Chloe rises from her kneel, Beca again makes eye contact with the elderly woman. The hostility is back, unmistakable in the set of her jaw and the deep furrow between her brows. Absurdly, Beca almost wants to laugh at her; then, she realizes what kind of influence the little girl will grow up with if the old woman truly is her grandmother, and her amusement is replaced with heavy fatigue.

Chloe waves goodbye to the little girl, Beca glares at the old woman, and they continue on their way. As Chloe reunites their hands and they reach the table with oranges, Beca searches for the other Bellas. She finally spots them while Chloe talks with the orange vendor; they're almost halfway down the market from them, Stacie and Aubrey looking over an arrangement of handcrafted soaps while the others wait for them (Lilly is still missing). Beca's relieved to see Stacie and Aubrey still standing without touching and that no one seems to be paying them any extra attention, beyond the occasional wandering male eye.

"What are you looking at?" Chloe asks, her voice suddenly closer than Beca had expected. Beca glances over to see Chloe clutching a small bag of oranges in the same hand already holding the jar of honey.

"Just the Bellas," Beca replies. "Think we should wait for them, then head out? You know, before you buy the entire market," she manages to tease, trying to hide her own discomfort and keep Chloe oblivious of the surrounding hostility aimed at them.

Even as she speaks, another middle-aged couple walking by glares at them. Beca feels her face warm and turns, pretending to look over at the Bellas again.

"Oh, sure," Chloe agrees easily, regaining Beca's attention. "Let's look at… postcards?" She points to a spinning rack of the souvenirs standing just a few stalls down, located in a cramped-looking vendor tent for cheap trinkets and other gifts. In order to get to the postcards, they'll have to move behind the seller's table.

Beca nods and follows her, weaving around people and ducking behind the selling table to finally squeeze into the little space around the postcards. It's even smaller than it had looked from the main area, with cheap tables for key rings and other Louisiana-themed trinkets set up on either side of the revolving postcard rack. The position of the rack means the vendor – a middle-aged man – sits between them and the main walkway of the market.

Beca catches his eye and swallows hard at the frown on his face. From where he's sitting, he easily could have seen them kiss, and Chloe's hand is still firmly wrapped around hers. She shifts her weight uncomfortably as Chloe sets honey and oranges down on the ground, freeing a hand to browse through the postcards.

The man twists his upper body in his seat to stare at them with blatant aggression. Beca pivots her own body so her back is to him, rather than the side of her face, but she can still feel the heat of his gaze searing into the back of her head.

 _It's unfair,_ she thinks tiredly. _It's so unfair._

Her eyes start to prickle and burn with frustrated tears, and Beca blinks rapidly before Chloe can see any sign of them. She can't let anything break the bubble Chloe's created for herself. Beca takes a deep breath through her nose as Chloe rotates the postcard rack.

Beca takes a moment to be grateful for that innocent obliviousness, and the sight of Chloe acting so calm and normal makes the unpleasant heat in her eyes recede.

"Hey, dykes," a rasping, gravely male suddenly voice rings out from behind them. Beca knows instantly it's the vendor. Her heart clenches.

Chloe doesn't react. So, Beca doesn't either.

"I'm talking to you. Do you hear me? How dare you go out in front of children?" the man sneers. "Showing them your ways. Infecting them."

At that, a muscle in Chloe's cheek stands out, and Beca knows she's clenching her jaw. Beca looks around, purposely avoiding making eye contact with the angry face staring at her, searching for the Bellas. She spots them still shopping only a few stalls down, near the orange vendor, but they don't see her and Chloe.

The man rises from his chair to stand purposely between them and the only exit; the surrounding tables block them from movement.

Chloe's hand trembles as she replaces the postcard she'd been looking at.

"How dare you flaunt your sin like that," the man continues, careful to keep his volume at a level only they can hear. "You disgusting _whores_."

Beca hears herself make a weird gasping noise. She's never been called a whore before.

Chloe's hand shifts in her own. With a pang, Beca realizes she's trying to pull away to put some space between them. Instead of letting go, Beca only tightens her grip on Chloe's hand, holding her in place.

Instantly, Chloe's eyes – wide and frightened – snap up to meet Beca's. Cheek muscles straining with the effort, Beca forces her face into what is hopefully a reassuring smile as she runs her thumb over the back of Chloe's hand. The action seems to soothe Chole marginally, her expression relaxing and eyes softening around the edges.

In that moment, Beca wants nothing more than to wrap Chloe in her arms and protect her from this man and from the outside world, but she knows that any further sign of affection will only make it worse for them.

"Hey, fire-crotch, come here," the raspy voice drawls.

The instant the slur leaves the man's mouth, Beca twists so she's standing between Chloe and the vendor, facing him. Their hands are still linked, Beca's right in Chloe's left, so the action pulls Chloe close against her back.

A quiet "Bec, don't," is breathed into her ear, but Beca doesn't budge, even when Chloe tries to drag her aside. Her eyes dart around, first from the man to the passing crowd; a few people seem to have heard, or at least understand that something is going on, and have stopped to watch. Over their heads, Beca finally makes eye contact with Aubrey, who's looking over at them with a frown. Her eyes flick to the man, then back to where Beca stands protectively in front of Chloe. Her eyebrows lift and she whirls to Stacie.

Relief floods Beca's veins at the silent communication, but the man still has them trapped in the corner.

"I'll persuade you to like men," he continues addressing Chloe, lips drawn into a perverted smile and hand gesturing obscenely at his crotch. "You just haven't had one good enough." Chloe stiffens against Beca's back. "You'll like it. I can make you scream more than that little dyke ever does. Ginger, I'll fu –"

"SHUT UP!" Beca roars, finding her voice. Several more people stop to stare. Beyond them, Aubrey, Stacie, Amy, and Flo push through the crowd, trying to get to them. "Just shut the fuck up and leave us alone."

The man straightens his posture and blinks at Beca in surprise. He recovers, though, and with a greasy smile, takes a step forward. "Well, well… come over here and make me."

Fury courses through Beca. Her vision blurs and she takes a step forward at the same time Aubrey and Amy break free of the crowd and move toward the man with fire in their eyes, Amy (for some reason) shouting, "I eat Krauts like you for lunch!"

Before any of them can touch the man, though, Lilly – out of nowhere – launches herself out from under one of the tables of cheap souvenirs in the tent and tackles him around the knees. He goes down with a loud yell, but Beca's moving before she can see what happens next. She drags Chloe by the hand out of the stall, past where the man and Lilly are struggling on the ground, and back into the main aisle of the market.

"Go!" Aubrey yells at them, her eyes on the fight.

"We got this," Flo assures, and Stacie and Amy nod.

Beca spins around, looking for an exit. For a wild second, she thinks they're going to have to shove their way out of the throng of people staring at them. But then, a man looking to be in his twenties moves aside to give them room.

"Get out of here," he says, not unkindly. "And… sorry."

 _Then why didn't you help?_ Beca wants to snap back at him, but then Chloe's urging her forward and they're half-jogging through the mass of people and breaking away from the market. Footsteps follow and Beca glances over her shoulder, ready to punch someone, but it's just Stacie making sure that no one threatening comes after them.

They move quickly through the park surrounding the market, seemingly without any destination in mind apart from _away_. As they flee, Chloe leading, all Beca can see is the man's twisted, hateful face. His disgusting words fill her ears on a loop and she wants nothing more than to go back and join the fight, to cause him as much pain as he's caused her and Chloe.

Beca doesn't realize she's crying until Chloe drags her to a stop beside a park bench far away from the market, wiping at her face with shaking hands.

"Bec, breathe, you need to calm down –"

"Didn't you hear what he said to you?" Beca half-shouts as she shakes off Chloe's hands, all her fear and anger from the past hour boiling over and bursting out in a wild torrent.

Stacie's still following them, but she stops running well before she reaches the bench to give them room. She turns, presumably looking for Aubrey and the others so she can wave them down.

Chloe nods, her eyes wide and hands still shaking, half raised as if yearning to reach out to Beca. "Yes, I did hear it, and it was – it's horrible, I hated every second – but Bec, you can't freak out at –"

"Chloe, he –" Beca has to cut herself off and turn away for a second, both hands running through her hair. She takes a quick breath in an attempt to quiet her voice before continuing. "Those – fucking – those people would rip us apart for being happy. Did you see that? Did you see any of that fucking bullshit? They hate us, just because we're happy with each other and we happen to be two girls!"

By the end of the sentence, she's yelling again, her hands gesturing wildly through the air. In the distance, she can see Amy, Lilly, Flo, and Aubrey exiting the market; Stacie waves at them to get their attention.

"God, Chloe!" Beca keeps going, anger rolling off of her in waves. "It's so fucking unfair that we can't – that I can't hold your hand in public without feeling like someone's going to attack us or something! I hate that we can't be ourselves here!"

"I know, Beca! I _know_!" Chloe cries back, tears forming in her own eyes. "It's horrible! But _please_ don't yell."

"Don't yell?" Beca shouts, her voice cracking. "Don't _yell?!_ Do you realize if we'd wanted to – Chloe, until a few years ago, we wouldn't have been able to get married! Do you know how fucked up that is? We shouldn't have to hide what we have to be safe from those assholes!"

Aubrey, Amy, Lilly, and Flo have reached Stacie, and the five of them pace nervously, faces turning between where Beca and Chloe stand and the market.

" _Yes_ , Beca, I do know! It's completely fucked up!" Chloe's chin wobbles dangerously as a few tears fall from her eyes. The sight makes Beca's own eyes sting again and she wipes at them angrily.

"Of course I know! I saw it!" Chloe continues, her own voice rising in volume with every word. "Do you think I didn't notice the honey seller close her eyes? Or that person bump into you? Or all the staring? Or how that – that old _crone_ was ready to personally slit our throats for that little kiss? Did you really think I didn't see any of that?"

"I –"

"Yes, Beca," Chloe plowed on, "we shouldn't have to hide, and it's not fair – but please just listen to me for a second. Okay?" The volume of her voice dropped to a low, soothing tone and she took a step forward, back into Beca's personal space.

"Please?" Chloe whispers, slowly bringing her hands up to again wipe at the few residual tears Beca can feel on her face. "Breathe, baby, just breathe for a second."

Beca takes a deep, shaking breath. Chloe's stopped crying, but her cheeks are still flushed with emotion. The careful, tender expression on her face makes something settle in Beca's chest, calming her. She feels a little ashamed for losing control, but the way Chloe looks at her now tells her that it's okay.

She nods after a moment, wanting Chloe to continue.

"Okay," Chloe breathes. Her hands fall from Beca's face to slide down her arms until she links their fingertips. "I know we shouldn't have to hide, and I know it's not fair," she says quietly, so only Beca can hear. "But listen to me. We're lucky to even have what we have, Bec. There are… in some countries, being like us is illegal. Not even marriage, just… being."

A fresh wave of sadness crashes over Beca, but before it can drag her down, Chloe keeps going.

"Listen to me, okay? There's nothing we can do to change other people, and I – I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But we need to focus on the good. In New York, nobody cares. We can be _us_ at home. And the Bellas…" Chloe lets out a huff that might be a laugh as she glances toward the others, still waiting quietly. "The Bellas are so happy for us. Bec, most people don't care or they support us. Like – that little girl. Do you remember that little girl?"

Beca nods and feels her lips lift into a small smile, already knowing where Chloe's going with this.

"That little girl," Chloe says, "saw me kiss you and – and all she cared about was the color of my hair. Bec, focus on her. Focus on the guy that let us leave. Focus on everyone who walked by without a second look at us. Focus on the _good_."

"Yeah," Beca sighs, her voice a little hoarse. She closes her eyes to see the shy smile of the little girl.

"Yeah," Chloe repeats. "It's getting better. Every day, it's getting better. Focus on that."

Beca draws a lungful of air through her nose, the last of her anger and anxiety draining away. After a moment, she reopens her eyes to see Chloe smiling tentatively at her. It's her favorite sight in the entire world, and in that second, it's the only thing that matters.

"Okay?" Chloe asks quietly, her eyes flicking between Beca's. "There are some people waiting for us."

"I'm okay," Beca replies, then leans in to press her lips briefly against Chloe's. Maybe it's a stupid thing to do, but she needs to kiss Chloe right then.

She turns, a little unwilling at first to meet the others' eyes, but there's no avoiding the sympathy in Amy's and Flo's expressions and the understanding in Aubrey's and Stacie's. Lilly, Beca is pleased to see, looks as stoic as ever and doesn't have a single scratch on her.

"That was a sweet tackle, Lilly," Beca says with a grin. "Thanks for that."

Lilly shrugs. "Satan has taught me many things," she whispers.

"Yeah, sorry about not – we should have been there," Amy says uncomfortably. "We heard you yell, but…"

"We should have dragged that man behind a car," Flo insists.

"Well," Chloe replies, standing beside Beca and smoothing a hand across her lower back, "that's a good idea, but probably would have gotten us arrested."

"Speaking of," Aubrey adds, glancing around nervously, "we probably should go. I think someone did call the cops."

Beca winces. "Yeah, are you guys okay?"

Amy snorts. "It was all Lilly. She hit him – well, that guy won't be able to have kids anytime soon."

"He was lucky we were there to drag her off of him, actually," Stacie says with a slightly fearful glance at Lilly, who smiles serenely.

"Oh, here's these," Flo steps forward suddenly, pulling the honey and oranges Chloe had left at the market out of her bag.

"Thanks," Chloe takes them, then looks at Beca. "Ready to get out of here? The others are probably at the hotel by now."

Beca nods, the tension in her chest finally lifting. "So ready."

Chloe reaches to hold Beca's hand again, and Stacie reaches for Aubrey, and together they make their way back to Amy's van, heads held high.


	13. Colors of the Rainbow

**Set in June following the events of "Pigtails." A quick little Pride drabble.**

* * *

Chloe jerks awake with a yelp just as a clap of thunder shakes the room around them. She whimpers with fear and clutches the sheets, totally disoriented by the raging storm and the fading tendrils of her nightmare. A bright flash of lightning illuminates their apartment, immediately followed by another deep boom of thunder that rattles the windows. Chloe shrinks further under the sheets, burrowing into the warm body lying next to her.

"Chlo? Whassup?" Beca's voice, though hoarse and groggy with sleep, still sends a soothing wave of calm through Chloe's veins. "Wha's happenin'?"

"Bad dream," Chloe breathes as Beca shifts in bed. Familiar arms wind around her waist to pull her close. Chloe pushes her face into Beca's neck, breathing in her comforting Beca-smell.

"About what, baby?"

Chloe squeezes her eyes closed. Behind her eyelids, the nameless faces from her nightmare blur together, eyes narrowed in judgment and disgust as she holds Beca's hand in defiance. It has been months since they'd been attacked at the Farmer's Market in Louisiana, but the experience still haunts her.

"Nothing," Chloe sighs, reopening her eyes and returning to the present. "It doesn't matter." It does matter, but Beca doesn't need to know that.

Beca doesn't press the issue. Instead, she pulls Chloe closer to her chest and presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Think you'll be able to sleep?"

Chloe winces; the idea of the nightmare resuming where it left off is a daunting one. Plus, with the storm pressing against the windows, threatening to get in, Chloe wasn't sure she could sleep anyway. Another sharp rumble of thunder startles Chloe, and Beca holds her tighter.

"It's okay, I've got you," Beca says, now sounding fully awake. "And actually… I have an idea." She ducks down to press her lips against Chloe's, soft and careful and so loving that it drives away the lingering dread in Chloe's mind. Chloe parts her lips and presses closer, thinking that she knows (and likes) what Beca's idea might be… but then, Beca brings the kiss to a close and pulls away. She throws back the sheets, exposing her tank top and shorts, and swings a leg over the edge of the bed.

"Beca?"

Beca glances back, smirk in place and eyebrow raised playfully. "Follow me."

* * *

Considering their apartment is basically just one large room, it doesn't take more than a couple of seconds for Chloe to join Beca in the kitchen. She glances at her phone, which is charging facedown on what passes as their countertop: 3:47am. It's the weekend, so neither of them has to work in the morning, but it's still not great for their sleep routine to be up this late. Or early.

"Bec, what are we doing?" she asks, leaning against the table. Already, with the apartment lights on and Beca awake with her, the sound of the storm is beginning to fade.

"If you give me just a second…" Beca murmurs, her back to Chloe as she reaches up into a cupboard.

Chloe watches, amused, as Beca has to rise to her tiptoes in order to reach what she's searching for. After a moment, she makes a little sound of victory and pulls away from the cupboard, holding a brightly colored box. Surprise ripples through Chloe as she realizes what it is.

"A tie-dye kit?" she blinks at Beca, whose grin makes the lights in the kitchen appear dim.

"Yeah," Beca shrugs, setting the kit down on the kitchen table before moving to their tiny closet. "I thought we could maybe tie-dye _these_ —" from the closet, she extracts several plain white t-shirts, tank tops, and even some socks "—for Pride next weekend. The colors… well, we could do rainbow, or any combination, really. If you want," she adds a little shyly when Chloe doesn't immediately respond.

"I—of course!" Chloe assures her, stepping close to take the tank tops from Beca's arms. "Just surprised me. You wanna do this now?"

"Well," Beca huffs, raising a hand to rub at the back of her neck. "I was planning on surprising you with this one night this week, but… since you had that nightmare… and the storm... I thought—"

Chloe cuts her off with a kiss, pressing her lips to Beca's just as softly as Beca had kissed her earlier. She smiles into the kiss, pulling away after a moment to rest her forehead against Beca's. "It's perfect," she whispers.

"Cool," Beca grins before stepping back, her arms still full of new white garments. "Um, so, I don't know if we should do all of it because the packet says we gotta soak the shirts and stuff for, like, twelve hours for the best results, so maybe if we do just a few for a couple minutes?"

Chloe nods and reaches for the tie-dye kit, reading the instructions. The final vestiges of her nightmare fade and the rain outside turns to a light sprinkle; as always, Beca had driven away the storm.

* * *

The following weekend at New York Pride, Chloe walks hand in hand with Beca, both clad in vibrant rainbow tie-dye t-shirts. Beca's socks are dyed pink, purple, and blue, while Chloe's are pink, yellow, and sky blue. Around them, thousands of people—many of them same-sex couples holding hands—of all ages and appearances mill around, waving various Pride flags. They're all different, but to Chloe, they all seem to have two things in common: they're all celebrating Pride, and they're all smiling.

"Happy Pride, Chlo," Beca murmurs in her ear, and the next thing Chloe knows, they're kissing in the middle of the street.

Nothing has ever felt better.


End file.
